Poor sleep pattern takes a toll on mental health of healthcare workers: Study

In a recent study researchers have studied the effect of the Covid19 pandemic on healthcare workers sleep patterns and the potentially damaging consequences of sleep disturbance on their mental health The study has been published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public HealthThe new study found that healthcare workers with poor sleep were twice more likely to report symptoms of depression than their betterrested colleagues and were 50 per cent more likely to report psychological distress and 70 per cent more likely to report anxiety That constellation of troubles could worsen the overlapping crises already enveloping health careRight now a large percentage of health care workers are leaving their jobs because of the stress producing a shortage of health care workers nationally said the studies lead author Marwah Abdalla MD assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons With fewer workers on the job the remaining staff must work more and longer shifts exacerbating their sleep problems and stress Abdalla addedIts hardly news that health care workers have been under immense stress during the COVID pandemic something Abdalla a cardiologist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center has witnessed firsthand since early 2020 As a physicianscientist she formed a team to study health care workers reactions to stress with a special emphasis on the pandemics effects on sleepDuring the pandemics first peak in New York City she and her colleagues conducted a series of surveys of health care workers sleep habits and psychological symptoms The groups first paper published in August summarized the sleep data showing that over 70 per cent of health care workers had at least moderate insomnia symptoms during the pandemics first peak Though that number declined alongside COVID case counts nearly four in 10 still suffered from insomnia symptoms 10 weeks later when the first COVID wave was over and work schedules had returned to more normal levelsPoor sleep not only affects patient care We know that lack of sleep degrades the quality of care for our patients and can increase medical errors said Abdalla but also may also trigger symptoms of depression and anxiety In the second study the researchers found that health care workers who reported poor sleep also reported higher levels of stress anxiety and depression than health care workers who slept betterAlthough stress anxiety and depression can arise among wellrested individuals sleep is essential to mental health and there is a bidirectional relationship Abdalla said While we dont know from this study if psychological distress itself caused poor sleep or if poor sleep resulted in psychological distress among these health care workers improving sleep can reduce psychological problems and vice versa she explainedAbdalla added that if future studies can tease apart the direction of this relationship and the impact of poor sleep on mental health for health care workers during the pandemic there may be several potential interventions from cognitivebehavioural therapy for insomnia to increasing break room rest areas andor installing nap pods for hospital staff to use during long shifts For people who might be sleepdeprived encourage them to go and lie down for 20 minutes or 30 minutes Abdalla saidImproved sleep wont alleviate all the extra stress that health care workers face but may help to improve mental and physical health Previous research has shown that sleep trouble increases your risk for chronic conditions such as heart disease diabetes dementia and cancer If you have trouble sleeping let this be a wakeup call said AbdallaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever