Struggling to sleep? Vivid nightmares? Sleep paralysis?
It could be down to Covid.
People have been Tweeting their sleeping woes all throughout the pandemic, but the recent Omicron spike has seen the conversation start afresh.
One person Tweeted today: ‘The pandemic caused me to start having sleep paralysis episodes and if I’m being really honest with myself I’d rather just get Covid.’
Another wrote: ‘Have you had Covid recently? Long Covid gave me awful night terrors and increased sleep paralysis. Not sleeping on my back helped.’
Kathryn Pinkham, NHS consultant and founder of The Insomnia Clinic, says this is to be expected both if you have Covid and if you’re experiencing heightened anxiety because of it.
She says: ‘Symptoms of Covid include poor sleep and insomnia.
‘Once our sleep pattern becomes disrupted due to ill health or anxiety, then we get stuck in a cycle where we begin to associate bed with being awake.
‘For example, the longer we spend in bed tossing and turning unable to sleep, the more we begin to relate our bed to feeling stressed and to being awake.
‘Equally, the more hypervigilant and anxious we become about sleep, the worse the cycle gets.
‘Sleep paralysis is linked to sleep deprivation, so that would go some way in explaining why Covid and sleep paralysis are linked.’
The Sleep Charity’s National Sleep Survey found that close to half of respondents are now finding it harder to fall asleep, with unease around the current situation affecting sleep for three quarters of people.
Women are reporting vivid dreams more so than men, on average.
Kathryn believes it’s not neccessarily Covid itself causing sleep disruptions, but the stress around the pandemic.
‘When people are suffering with Covid it is a stressful time due to the uncertainty of the illness, and this can increase the chances of experiencing sleep paralysis,’ she notes.
‘Any disruption to our normal routine and increased anxiety can cause higher chance of nightmares, vivid dreams and other sleep disorders. With Covid having caused so much anxiety, it’s easy to see why these are becoming common at the moment.’
James Wilson, The Sleep Geek, tells us while stress is long known to contribute to sleep issues, our understanding of how Covid might play into our rest is still new.
He says: ‘During the pandemic we have seen a reported rise in people suffering from things like sleep paralysis, Covid dreams and other parasomnias like sleepwalking.
‘There isn’t any evidence that these events are linked to Covid itself, explanations for this could be the symptoms of the virus, particularly around the rise in temperature as our body fights the virus and also the impact on our mental health of the pandemic.
‘During REM sleep our brain works through the emotional issues of the day, and the vivid dreams and sleep paralysis are a symptom of the extra strain on our mental health.’
So what can you do to try to prevent this from happening?
He continues: ‘The best thing we can do is to think about the triggers.
‘If it is temperature, then think about separate duvets from your partner, a lower tog rated duvet, and if you have a foam mattress think about swapping it for a spring mattress.
‘If it is stress and anxiety, make sure you have a bedtime that is right for you. In the hour before bed focus on dropping your heart rate and being relaxed.’
He suggests doing whatever will make you calmer – while experts will suggest meditation, he says watching something ‘funny or trashy’ will also help if that tends to calm your mind.
As Coronavirus continues to sweep the nation, a poor night’s sleep might do too.
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