Night work, sleep disruption and long-COVID risk: a population-based cohort study
et al., Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, doi:10.5271/sjweh.4318, Aug 2026
Sleep for COVID-19
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No treatment is 100% effective. Protocols
combine treatments.
6,600+ studies for
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Prospective cohort study of 1,899 SARS-CoV-2-infected participants in Spain showing that night shift work and poor sleep were associated with higher risk of long COVID.
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risk of long COVID, 28.9% lower, RR 0.71, p = 0.02, improved sleep 783, worse sleep 174, adjusted per study, <6 hours or ≥9 hours.
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risk of long COVID, 25.9% lower, RR 0.74, p = 0.08, improved sleep 107 of 783 (13.7%), worse sleep 36 of 174 (20.7%), NNT 14, adjusted per study, inverted to make RR<1 favor improved sleep, <6 hours, multivariable.
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risk of long COVID, 37.9% lower, RR 0.62, p = 0.12, improved sleep 107 of 783 (13.7%), worse sleep 10 of 41 (24.4%), NNT 9.3, adjusted per study, inverted to make RR<1 favor improved sleep, ≥9 hours, multivariable.
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risk of long COVID, 29.6% lower, RR 0.70, p = 0.003, improved sleep 212 of 1,561 (13.6%), worse sleep 81 of 378 (21.4%), NNT 13, adjusted per study, inverted to make RR<1 favor improved sleep, chronic insomia, multivariable.
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risk of long COVID, 37.1% lower, RR 0.63, p < 0.001, improved sleep 139 of 1,164 (11.9%), worse sleep 81 of 378 (21.4%), NNT 11, adjusted per study, inverted to make RR<1 favor improved sleep, sleep problems ≥3 nights/week, multivariable.
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risk of long COVID, 30.6% lower, RR 0.69, p = 0.006, improved sleep 139 of 1,164 (11.9%), worse sleep 73 of 397 (18.4%), NNT 16, adjusted per study, inverted to make RR<1 favor improved sleep, sleep problems <3 nights/week, multivariable.
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| Effect extraction follows pre-specified rules prioritizing more serious outcomes. Submit updates |
Papantoniou et al., 4 Aug 2026, prospective, Spain, peer-reviewed, mean age 65.0, 16 authors.
Contact: kyriaki.papantoniou@meduniwien.ac.at.
Abstract:
Original article
Scand J Work Environ Health Online-first -article https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.4318
Published online: 04 Aug 2026
Night work, sleep disruption and long-COVID risk: a population-based cohort study
by Papantoniou K, Espinosa A, Karachaliou M, Lassale C, Castaño-Vinyals G, Harding BN, De Matteis S, Straif K, Alonso-Nogués E, Dobaño C, Moncunill G, Blay N, Iraola-Guzmán S, de Cid R, Garcia-Aymerich J, Kogevinas M
This prospective cohort study is the first to demonstrate that night shift work is associated with a higher risk of long-COVID. Furthermore, sleep disturbances emerged as independent risk factor for long-COVID. Concurrent exposure to night work and chronic insomnia synergistically amplified the risks. These findings provide new population-based evidence that circadian disruption and sleep disturbances may contribute to the progression from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection to chronic post-infection sequelae.
Affiliation: Medical University of Vienna, Center for Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Spitalgasse 88, 1090, Vienna, Austria. kyriaki.papantoniou@meduniwien.ac.at
Refers to the following texts of the Journal: 2020;46(5):516-524 2025;51(4):298-311
Key terms: COVID-19; insomnia; long-COVID; night shift work; night work; SARS-Cov-2; shift work; sleep disruption; sleep disturbance
This article in PubMed: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/42550964
Additional material
Please note that there is additional material available belonging to this article on the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health -website.
[This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Scand J Work Environ Health - online first: 4 August 2026. doi:10.5271/sjweh.4318
Night work, sleep disruption and long-COVID risk: a population-based cohort study
by Kyriaki Papantoniou, PhD, 1, 2 Ana Espinosa, MSc, 2-4 Marianna Karachaliou, PhD, 5 Camille Lassale, PhD, 2, 4, 6 Gemma CastañoVinyals, PhD, 2-4 Barbara N Harding, PhD, 7 Sara De Matteis, PhD, 8 Kurt Straif, PhD, 2, 9 Eva Alonso-Nogués, PhD, 10 Carlota Dobaño, PhD, 2, 11 Gemma Moncunill, PhD, 2, 11 Natalia Blay, PhD, 12, 13 Susana Iraola-Guzmán, PhD, 12, 13 Rafael de Cid, PhD, 12, 13 Judith Garcia-Aymerich, PhD, 2, 3, 4 Manolis Kogevinas, PhD 2-4, 14
Papantoniou K, Espinosa A, Karachaliou M, Lassale C, Castaño-Vinyals G, Harding BN, De Matteis S, Straif K, Nogues EA, Dobaño C, Moncunill G, Blay N, Iraola-Guzmán S, de Cid R, Garcia-Aymerich J, Kogevinas M. Night work, sleep disruption and long-COVID risk: a population-based cohort study. Scand J Work Environ Health - online first.
Objective Circadian and sleep disruption may increase the risk and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections, but the role of night shift work and disturbed sleep in the development of long-COVID remains inadequately investigated. We prospectively examined the association of night work and sleep disturbances with risk of long-COVID.
Methods We followed participants of the COVICAT study, a population-based cohort of adults in Catalonia, Spain between 2021 and 2023. Night shift work and sleep characteristics were assessed in 2021. Long-COVID was defined as the report of persistent symptoms (>3 months) after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Poisson regression analysis was performed to evaluate the independent and joint effects of night shift work and sleep disturbances including..
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