Long COVID is an illness in which COVID-19’s effects generally persist or reappear weeks or months after acute infection. Long-term symptoms can range from fatigue and breathlessness to anxiety and sleep disturbance, and can cause real distress. While much is still unknown about Long COVID, researchers recently reported six lifestyle habits that lowered the risk of Long COVID in women, and are also important for people currently living with the disorder.*

https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/local-doctor-says-theres-actions-you-can-take-to-reduce-long-covid/

Healthy living to fight Long COVID

CBS Dallas spoke with Carol Nwelue, M.D. of Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center about the study results recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Nwelue describes six healthy lifestyle factors that, states CBS, “Could make all the difference in your COVID recovery.” They include:

• Achieving and maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI) 
• Not smoking
• Moderation in alcohol intake
• Sleeping seven to nine hours each day
• High-quality diet
• Regular exercise

The study, headed by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, examined the lifestyle habits of over 32,000 female nurses enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II. Lifestyle data was from 2015-2017, before the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, more than 1,900 participants developed COVID-19. Of those, 44% went on to have Long COVID.

• Women who adhered to five or six of these healthy behaviors, however, had 49% less risk of Long COVID than women who didn’t follow any of these behaviors.
• Of these behaviors, keeping a healthy bodyweight and getting enough sleep were linked most strongly to reduced risk of Long COVID.
• Moreover, women who did develop Long COVID but lived a healthy lifestyle before the pandemic had a 30%-reduced risk of debilitating symptoms. 

Nwelue says it’s common with different diseases that people who adhere to these healthy behaviors “tend to do better when they do get sick.” To start, she says, quitting smoking and lowering alcohol intake “can definitely improve your likelihood of surviving and doing well if you were to contract COVID.”

The researchers say these lifestyle behaviors are likely associated with less risk of chronic inflammation and immune dysfunction, which are linked to elevated Long COVID risk.

Relieving Long COVID symptoms

Just as quitting smoking and reducing alcohol intake can lower your risk of both severe acute illness and Long COVID, these and other lifestyle habits can also help reduce actual Long COVID symptoms. As experts explain:

• Too much alcohol can disrupt sleep patterns and disturb immune function, and
• Nicotine (in tobacco) raises heart rate and blood pressure, irritates the respiratory tract, and negatively affects lung function, all of which worsen Long COVID.

In addition to the six healthy habits mentioned above, other healthy behaviors that can help  relieve Long COVID symptoms include:

• Seeking medical help for any profound changes (breathlessness, chest pain, etc.)
• Getting vaccinated
• Avoiding reinfection through masking in public, hand washing, etc.
• Finding emotional support, from both peers and professionals

Support is also available at longcovid.org and the Long COVID Support Group.

*CBS Dallas. (2023, February 14). Local doctor says there are actions you can take to reduce long COVID [Video file]. CBS News. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/local-doctor-says-theres-actions-you-can-take-to-reduce-long-covid