„Coronasomnia“ – Resilienzförderung durch Insomniebehandlung

Richter, Kneginja; Kellner, Stefanie

BACKGROUND: The term “coronasomnia” is used in popular science to describe sleep disorders associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. These disorders may also affect part of the population in the aftermath of the pandemic. Early scientific evidence suggests that COVID-19-associated insomnia and insomniac symptoms can become chronic and will continue to preoccupy the sleep medicine community even after the pandemic has ended. METHODS: A literature review was conducted in Medline and Google Scholar using the following combination of keywords: “insomnia and COVID-19”, “insomnia and long COVID”, “insomnia, PTSD and COVID-19”, and “fatigue and insomnia in long COVID”. In addition, the authors reviewed several recent articles published by members of the European Insomnia Network. RESULTS: Studies on insomnia and COVID-19 show significant associations between acute infection and insomnia in affected individuals. The prevalence of insomnia symptoms in COVID-19-affected individuals was 36 to 88%, which is significantly higher than the estimated 10 to 40% prevalence of insomnia in the general population. CONCLUSION: Digital therapy as a current treatment option for insomnia can be offered to patients regardless of physical distance. Accordingly, not only early approval of therapy apps, but also person-led, digital therapy options for insomnia would be recommended. The inclusion of personalised and sleep-coaching measures in the area of occupational health management is encouraged.