Can Long Covid Affect Sleep?

Your body fights hard against COVID-19, but sometimes the battle leaves lasting changes in your brain and nervous system that mess with your sleep cycles. Many people find themselves lying awake at night, waking up multiple times, or feeling exhausted even after sleeping for hours.

These sleep problems don’t just disappear on their own like other COVID symptoms might. Scientists now understand that Long COVID can seriously damage your sleep patterns, leaving you tired during the day and frustrated at night.

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The good news is that understanding what happens to your sleep after COVID-19 can help you take steps to get better rest. Keep reading to discover exactly how Long COVID disrupts your sleep and learn proven strategies that can help you sleep soundly again.

What Is Long COVID?

Long COVID happens when symptoms from your COVID-19 infection stick around long after the virus leaves your body. Doctors officially call it “Long COVID” when your symptoms last for Verified Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The United States’ health protection agency that defends against dangers to health and safety. View source three months or longer after you first get sick.

Worldwide, it’s estimated that 6 in 100 Verified Source World Health Organization (WHO) United Nations agency whose stated goal is to improve the health of all. View source people who had COVID-19 develop Long COVID symptoms. Percentages of populations can fluctuate mildly between studies, with close to 7%, Verified Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The United States’ health protection agency that defends against dangers to health and safety. View source at least 10% Verified Source National Library of Medicine (NIH) World’s largest medical library, making biomedical data and information more accessible. View source over 12%, and even 19% Verified Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The United States’ health protection agency that defends against dangers to health and safety. View source are all observed figures.

Your body might look completely healed on the outside, but inside, it’s still dealing Verified Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The United States’ health protection agency that defends against dangers to health and safety. View source with changes the virus left behind. These symptoms can include fatigue, brain fog, breathing problems, and sleep issues that won’t go away.

Some people get Long COVID even if their original infection was mild or they barely felt sick at all. The condition affects people of all ages, from teenagers to elderly adults, and scientists are still learning why some people get it while others don’t.

The Sleep Connection Nobody Talks About

Sleep problems after COVID-19 happen because the virus can damage parts of your brain that control when you feel sleepy or awake. One online survey examining Verified Source National Library of Medicine (NIH) World’s largest medical library, making biomedical data and information more accessible. View source post-COVID patients reported 78.58% experienced sleep issues as one of their main symptoms.

This isn’t like the temporary sleep disruption you might get from a regular cold or flu that goes away in a week. The virus causes inflammation in your body that can Verified Source National Library of Medicine (NIH) World’s largest medical library, making biomedical data and information more accessible. View source last for months, and this inflammation affects the chemicals in your brain that regulate sleep.

Your nervous system, which controls your sleep-wake cycle, gets confused and starts sending mixed signals about when to sleep and when to stay alert.

Unlike recovering from other illnesses where rest helps you bounce back quickly, Long COVID sleep problems often get worse over time if you don’t address them.

Many people feel frustrated because they expect their sleep to return to normal once they’re “better,” but Long COVID operates by different rules.

Types of Sleep Problems People Face

People with Long COVID experience several different kinds of sleep troubles that can make their nights miserable. The most common problem is insomnia, where you lie in bed for hours unable to fall asleep even though you feel exhausted.

Many people also wake up multiple times during the night and can’t get back to sleep, turning what should be restful hours into frustrating battles with their own minds. Even when people do manage to sleep through the night, they often wake up feeling like they never slept at all.

Daytime sleepiness becomes a major issue, with people feeling drowsy and foggy-headed throughout the day despite spending plenty of time in bed.

Some people develop irregular sleep patterns where they can’t stick to a normal bedtime schedule, sleeping at random hours that don’t match their daily routines.

These sleep issues create a vicious cycle where poor sleep makes other Long COVID symptoms like brain fog and fatigue even worse.

What Happens to Your Body During COVID

Scientists have discovered that COVID-19 doesn’t just attack your lungs. It also targets your brain and nervous system in ways that can mess up your sleep for months.

The virus can cross into your brain through your nose and blood vessels, causing inflammation that damages cells responsible for normal sleep patterns.

Your brain normally produces chemicals like melatonin and serotonin that help you fall asleep and stay asleep, but COVID-19 disrupts the production of these important sleep chemicals.

Even after the virus leaves your body, inflammation can stick around for months, continuing to interfere with your brain’s ability to regulate sleep.

The virus also affects your autonomic nervous system, which controls automatic functions like breathing, heart rate, and sleep cycles without you thinking about them. Many people don’t realize that their ongoing sleep troubles are actually their brain trying to heal from viral damage.

Research shows that the effects of inflammation can persist long after other COVID symptoms disappear, which explains why sleep problems often last much longer than fever or cough.

Scientists have used advanced sleep tracking devices that monitor people at home for weeks, revealing that Long COVID patients have dramatically different sleep patterns than healthy people.

Brain scans show actual physical changes in brain areas, and that can mean inflammation and reduced activity in regions responsible for maintaining normal sleep cycles.

Other Long COVID Symptoms

Long COVID rarely affects just your sleep. It often comes with breathing problems, pain, and brain fog that all interfere with each other. Learning to manage these symptoms together helps you sleep better and feel more in control of your recovery.

Dealing with Breathing Problems

Elevate your head and upper body with extra pillows or a wedge pillow to make breathing easier while lying down and reduce the feeling of breathlessness that can trigger panic.

Sleep on your side rather than your back, as this position opens your airways and can prevent the sensation of not getting enough air.

Some people need oxygen support at night if their blood oxygen levels drop during sleep, which your doctor can determine with simple monitoring tests.

Work with your healthcare provider to develop a plan for managing breathing difficulties, including when to use rescue inhalers or other medications that can help you breathe more comfortably at bedtime. Discuss also when to be concerned about symptoms, such as shortness of breath when lying down.

Practice slow, controlled breathing exercises for sleep before bed to calm your respiratory system and reduce anxiety about breathing problems during sleep.

Pain Management for Better Sleep

Explore safe pain relief options with your doctor, including over-the-counter medications, topical creams, or prescription treatments that won’t interfere with your sleep quality.

Use heat therapy like warm baths, heating pads, or warm compresses on sore muscles before bedtime to relax tension and reduce pain that might keep you awake.

Cold therapy with ice packs can help reduce inflammation and numb acute pain, but use it earlier in the evening since cold can be too stimulating right before sleep.

Try gentle stretching or light movement before bed to release muscle tension and reduce stiffness that often worsens when lying still for hours.

Position yourself carefully in bed with supportive pillows between your knees, under your arms, or wherever you feel pain to maintain comfortable alignment throughout the night.

Brain Fog and Sleep Quality

Poor sleep makes brain fog much worse because your brain can’t properly clean out waste products or consolidate memories without adequate deep sleep stages.

Focus on mental clarity strategies like writing things down, using phone reminders, and breaking complex tasks into smaller steps that feel more manageable when your thinking is cloudy.

Balance rest and activity carefully. Too much rest can actually make brain fog worse, while too much activity can exhaust your already struggling brain and worsen sleep problems.

Create a daily schedule that includes gentle mental stimulation like reading, puzzles, or light conversation, but avoid overstimulating activities that might interfere with sleep later.

Balance rest and activity carefully. Too much rest can actually make brain fog worse, while too much activity can exhaust your already struggling brain and worsen sleep problems.

Create a daily schedule that includes gentle mental stimulation like reading, puzzles, or light conversation, but avoid overstimulating activities that might interfere with sleep later.

Recognize that brain fog often improves gradually as sleep quality improves, so be patient with yourself while implementing sleep strategies and don’t expect immediate dramatic changes in your cognitive function.

How Sleep Problems Develop Over Time

Sleep problems often start as temporary issues that could resolve quickly, but Long COVID transforms them into chronic, long-lasting conditions that require medical attention.

Early warning signs include taking more than Verified Source National Library of Medicine (NIH) World’s largest medical library, making biomedical data and information more accessible. View source 30 minutes to fall asleep, waking up frequently during the night or middle-of-the-night awakenings ( MOTN Verified Source National Library of Medicine (NIH) World’s largest medical library, making biomedical data and information more accessible. View source ), or feeling unrefreshed Verified Source National Library of Medicine (NIH) World’s largest medical library, making biomedical data and information more accessible. View source after a full night’s sleep.

What begins as a few bad nights can snowball into weeks and months of poor sleep if people don’t get help early. The brain actually learns bad sleep habits during this time, creating new neural pathways that make insomnia feel normal and automatic.

The transition from temporary to chronic happens when your brain’s sleep control centers get stuck in patterns of hyperarousal and can’t shift back to normal functioning.

The Pain and Sleep Connection

Long COVID often brings both chronic pain and sleep problems that feed off each other in a destructive cycle. Pain signals from headaches, muscle aches, joint pain, or chest discomfort keep your nervous system on high alert, making it nearly impossible to relax enough for sleep.

When you can’t sleep well, your body produces more stress hormones and inflammatory chemicals that actually make pain worse the next day.

Your brain normally uses deep sleep to process and reduce pain signals, but when Long COVID disrupts this natural pain relief system, you wake up hurting more than when you went to bed.

Many people find that their pain gets much worse in the evening, right when they’re trying to wind down for sleep. The frustration of lying awake in pain creates anxiety and stress that further interfere with sleep, creating a vicious cycle that’s hard to break.

Even mild discomfort that you might ignore during the day becomes overwhelming when you’re trying to fall asleep in a quiet, dark room. Breaking this pain-sleep cycle often requires addressing both problems at the same time rather than hoping one will fix the other.

Comparing Long COVID Sleep to Other Conditions

Long COVID sleep problems can seem similar to those sleeping with chronic fatigue syndrome, including the bone-deep exhaustion that doesn’t improve with rest.

Both conditions involve post-viral changes to the nervous system that disrupt normal sleep architecture and leave people feeling unrefreshed no matter how long they sleep.

However, Long COVID sleep issues differ significantly from traditional cases of insomnia because they stem from physical brain changes rather than just stress or lifestyle factors.

So the usual sleep advice like “avoid caffeine” or “keep a regular bedtime” often doesn’t work for Long COVID patients because their sleep problems have biological rather than behavioral causes.

Unlike typical insomnia that might respond to relaxation techniques, Long COVID sleep issues often require medical interventions that address the underlying inflammation and nervous system dysfunction.

This is why doctors are developing new treatment approaches specifically designed for post-viral sleep disorders rather than relying on standard insomnia treatments.

Good Sleep Hygiene

You can take control of your Long COVID sleep problems by making smart changes to your daily habits and sleep environment. These strategies work best when you use them consistently, even when you don’t feel like they’re helping right away.

• Simple Daily Habits That Help – Building a regular sleep schedule and bedtime routine helps train your brain to expect sleep at the right time, even when Long COVID has disrupted your natural sleep patterns.
• What to Avoid Before Bedtime – Staying away from caffeine, screens, and stimulating activities in the hours before bed prevents your nervous system from becoming overstimulated when it should be winding down for sleep.
• Your Sleep Environment Matters – Creating a cool, dark, and quiet bedroom sanctuary gives your body the best possible conditions to fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night.

Improving your sleep with Long COVID takes patience and persistence, as your body needs time to adjust to new habits. Start with one or two changes that feel manageable, then gradually add more strategies as these become part of your natural routine.

Breathing and Relaxation Techniques

Your body has natural tools to help calm your nervous system and prepare for sleep, even when Long COVID has disrupted your normal patterns.

These techniques work by activating your body’s relaxation response and can be especially helpful when anxiety or breathing concerns keep you awake.

• Simple Breathing Exercises – Controlled breathing patterns like the 4-7-8 technique and box breathing calm your nervous system by stimulating your vagus nerve, which sends relaxing signals throughout your body and naturally slows your heart rate.
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation – This method teaches your body to release hidden tension by systematically tightening and relaxing each muscle group. In doing so, progressive muscle relaxation helps shift your nervous system from an alert state into the calm condition needed for sleep.
• Mindfulness for Better Sleep – Focusing on the present moment through breathing awareness helps quiet the racing thoughts and worries that often keep Long COVID patients awake at night.

These relaxation techniques become more powerful with regular practice, so try them during calm daytime moments first.

Start with whichever method feels most comfortable to you, and don’t worry if your mind wanders – gently bringing your attention back to the technique is part of the learning process.

When to Get Professional Help

Recognizing when your Long COVID sleep problems require professional medical attention can make the difference between months of suffering and getting effective treatment.

Don’t wait until your sleep issues completely take over your life before seeking help from healthcare providers who understand post-viral sleep disorders.

• Warning Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore – Sleep problems lasting more than a month, severe daytime fatigue affecting daily activities, mood changes, or breathing difficulties during sleep all signal that your brain needs professional help to reset its sleep patterns.
• Types of Specialists Who Can Help – Sleep medicine doctors, pulmonologists, mental health professionals, and primary care physicians each offer different expertise to address the complex sleep challenges that Long COVID creates in your body and mind.
• Tests and Treatments Available – Sleep studies, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, and specialized medications provide proven methods to identify and treat the specific sleep problems that Long COVID causes in your nervous system.

Seeking professional help early often leads to faster recovery and prevents sleep problems from becoming permanent fixtures in your life.

Healthcare providers now better understand Long COVID sleep issues and have specific treatments designed for post-viral sleep disorders that regular insomnia treatments might not address.

Hope and Recovery

Recovery from Long COVID sleep problems takes time, but many people do find relief and return to better sleep with the right approach. Understanding what works for others and what new treatments are coming can give you hope during difficult nights.

Connecting with other Long COVID patients, working with coordinated healthcare teams, tracking your progress in a workbook or sleep diary, and educating family and friends about your condition creates the strong foundation you need for successful recovery.

Recovery rarely follows a straight line, and setbacks don’t mean you’re not healing – they’re often part of the normal process. Stay patient with yourself and celebrate small improvements, because each good night’s sleep brings you closer to getting your life back on track.

FAQs

How long do Long COVID sleep problems typically last?

Long COVID sleep problems don’t have a set timeline and can persist for months or even years without proper treatment. Issues can start within a few weeks of recovering from COVID-19, and these problems often get worse over time if left untreated.

Some people see improvements within 4-6 weeks of starting treatment, while others need several months of consistent effort before noticing significant changes. The key is getting help early rather than waiting and hoping the problems will resolve on their own.

Can sleep problems happen even if I had a mild case of COVID-19?

Yes, you can develop serious sleep problems from Long COVID even if your original infection was very mild or you barely felt sick. The severity of your initial COVID-19 symptoms doesn’t predict whether you’ll develop Long COVID or how bad your sleep problems might become.

Those who had mild cases with just a few days of symptoms may find themselves struggling with months of sleep difficulties afterward.

This happens because the virus can cause brain inflammation and nervous system changes regardless of how sick you felt during the acute infection.

Are Long COVID sleep problems different from regular insomnia?

Long COVID sleep problems are quite different from regular insomnia because they stem from physical changes in your brain rather than stress or lifestyle factors.

Traditional sleep advice like avoiding caffeine or keeping a regular bedtime often doesn’t work as well for Long COVID patients because the root cause is biological damage from the virus.

Your brain’s sleep control centers get disrupted by inflammation and other changes that typical insomnia treatments aren’t designed to address.

This is why many people need specialized medical care and treatments specifically designed for post-viral sleep disorders.

Will sleep medications help with Long COVID sleep problems?

Sleep medications can help some Long COVID patients, but they don’t work the same way as they do for regular insomnia.

Some sleep aids that work well for typical insomnia might actually make Long COVID sleep problems worse because they don’t target the specific brain changes caused by the virus.

Your doctor needs to carefully choose medications based on your specific symptoms and other Long COVID issues you might have.

Many people find that a combination of medication, therapy, and lifestyle changes works better than relying on sleep pills alone.

Can improving my sleep help with other Long COVID symptoms?

Yes, better sleep can significantly improve many other Long COVID symptoms including brain fog, fatigue, mood problems, and even some pain issues.

When you sleep better, your brain can more effectively clear out waste products and reduce inflammation, which helps with cognitive function and energy levels.

Good sleep also strengthens your immune system and helps your body heal from the ongoing effects of Long COVID. However, you might need to address multiple symptoms at the same time rather than expecting sleep improvements alone to fix everything.

Should I see a doctor for sleep problems or can I handle them myself?

You should definitely see a doctor if your sleep problems last more than a month, severely affect your daily life, or come with breathing difficulties or mood changes.

While self-care strategies like good sleep hygiene and relaxation techniques can help, Long COVID sleep problems often need medical evaluation and treatment.

Sleep medicine doctors, pulmonologists, and mental health professionals understand how to treat post-viral sleep disorders differently from regular insomnia. Getting professional help early often leads to better outcomes than trying to manage severe sleep problems on your own.

Is it normal to feel anxious about sleep when I have Long COVID?

It’s completely normal and very common to develop anxiety about sleep, especially if you’ve experienced breathing problems or panic-like symptoms.

Many people become afraid of lying down because they worry their breathing will get worse or they’ll wake up gasping for air.

This sleep anxiety creates a vicious cycle where worrying about not sleeping actually makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.

The good news is that both the sleep problems and the anxiety about sleep can be treated with the right combination of medical care, therapy, and relaxation techniques.

Conclusion

Long COVID seriously disrupts your sleep, but you can fight back with the right knowledge and strategies.

When you understand how the virus damages your brain, you can create a plan for getting better sleep.

You can start using proven techniques like good sleep habits, breathing exercises, and stress management to improve your nights right away.

Note any progress or difficulties in a symptom journal or sleep diary, which can also help healthcare providers check in with where you’re at in your recovery journey.

Don’t try to handle severe sleep problems by yourself! Healthcare professionals can provide treatments that actually work.

Your body needs good sleep to heal from Long COVID as essential medicine that helps your brain recover. When you combine smart self-care strategies with professional help, you can find your way back to restful sleep after Long COVID.