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“The results from this study demonstrate that just a single night of exposure to moderate room lighting during sleep can impair glucose and cardiovascular regulation, which are risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome,” Zee , who is also the chief of sleep medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in the release. The Northwestern Medicine physician also said, “It’s important for people to avoid or minimize the amount of light exposure during sleep.”

Dr. Marc Sala, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist at Northwestern Medicine’s Comprehensive Covid-19 Center in Chicago, said his long Covid patients report symptoms of brain fog and difficulty focusing more so than depression or anxiety, although he acknowledged that perhaps he and other long Covid physicians should be asking more about such mental health symptoms.

Dr. Marc Sala, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist at Northwestern Medicine’s Comprehensive Covid-19 Center in Chicago, said his long Covid patients report symptoms of brain fog and difficulty focusing more so than depression or anxiety, although he acknowledged that perhaps he and other long Covid physicians should be asking more about such mental health symptoms.

Rather than suggesting you have one of these inflammatory bowel diseases, it’s more likely that frequent diarrhea episodes stem from some type of food sensitivity, irritable bowel syndrome or medication side effects, says Dr. Shaham Mumtaz, a gastroenterologist at the Northwestern Medicine Regional Medical Group in the Chicago area.

That’s a red flag, said Dr. Marc Sala, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist who sees long Covid patients at Northwestern Medicine’s Comprehensive Covid-19 Center. A test can only be validated, he said, through using it on a diverse group of people — in other words, a large mix of people both with and without long Covid.

“You don’t have that big adrenaline surge [like] when that alarm clock suddenly goes off,” noted Dr. Sabra Abbott, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and board-certified sleep medicine doctor.

“There were two markers of brain damage, or rather a marker of direct damage to nerve cells and another marker that indicates there is increased inflammation in the central nervous system or brain itself,” said Dr. Barbara Hanson, a researcher at the Northwestern Medicine Neurology COVID-19 research lab, speaking at a Monday press conference.

Researchers at Northwestern Medicine have identified both long-haulers with symptoms of anxiety and COVID patients hospitalized at Northwestern Memorial with encephalopathy, the most severe neurologic manifestation of COVID-19, showed evidence of neuron damage and brain inflammation.

Being more open about scheduling is one way to give people some breathing room. Lurie Children’s Hospital associate chief medical officer Dr. Anne Boat said they have been trying to shift schedules and be more open to flexibility especially knowing how people are juggling child care challenges

“This is the first longitudinal data to show that many pregnant women report depression and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum, despite their choice to continue treatment with antidepressants,” said senior author Dr. Katherine Wisner. She directs the Asher Center for the Study and Treatment of Depressive Disorders at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.