Insomnia During The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Relationship with Psychological Distress in Healthworkers : A Literature Review

Abstract

Background: The global COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on all aspects of daily life. One area it has impacted on is psychological stress experienced by health workers, particularly sleep disorders.  The development of sleep disorders such as insomnia may affect the wellbeing of health care workers. This literature review aims to summarize the evidence concerning insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship to psychological distress in healthcare workers and to detect associates stress symptoms with sleep quality in health workers.

Methods: This study is a literature review constructed by searching articles through the Pubmed and Science Direct electronic databases using a combination of keywords, including articles published from 2020-2022, analyzing the effect of insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with psychological stress. The review process used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) as a guide.

Results: A total of five articles were analyzed. Three studies indicated that insomnia was associated with stress symptoms even with low exposure to COVID-19 patient care. Two other articles showed that psychological distress has a negative impact on sleep quality to such a level that it interferes with daily activities.

Conclusion: Sleep disorders, including insomnia, are related to psychological distress in health workers in the COVID-19 pandemic era. Providing social and psychological support to health workers is crucial because the emotional well-being of health workers affects the quality of patient care, and subsequently the effective functioning of health services.