As new COVID-19 variants continue to emerge, so too does new evidence identifying people more vulnerable to persistent insomnia after viral infection.

In a recent study, a survey of medical students from China found that those with self-reported COVID-19 infections were significantly more likely to develop psychological symptoms even after pandemic restrictions were lifted in the country.

The risk factors associated with insomnia onset were moderate to severe symptoms during acute COVID-19 illness (e.g., sleep disturbances, decreased attention, and breathlessness), whereas regular exercise seemed protective against post-infection insomnia, according to Fei Wang, MD, PhD, of Nanjing Medical University, China, and colleagues.

"Despite the lack of persistent virus in the central nervous sy

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