Sleep strategies for Long Covid, insomnia, and chronic illness When you’re living with Long Covid or a complex chronic condition, sleep can feel like the one thing your body needs most — and the hardest thing to access. From insomnia and restless legs to sleep anxiety, constant waking, and unrefreshing rest, sleep disturbances are a common and exhausting part of chronic illness.In this episode of Make Visible, Emily Kate Stephens and Gez Medinger explore how sleep has affected — and been effected by — their Long Covid and chronic illness, and share practical strategies to improve sleep quality and quantity.Emily Kate is joined by sleep and respiratory physician David Joffe, who draws on over 40 years of clinical experience supporting patients with severe sleep disorders, respiratory disease, and Long Covid–related complications. Together, they discuss why Long Covid disrupts sleep architecture, how reduced slow-wave sleep impacts brain detoxification via the glymphatic system, and what the body needs to initiate and maintain restorative rest.This episode covers:Sleep hygiene for Long Covid and chronic illnessDaily routines to support circadian rhythm and sleep qualityCalming nighttime rituals to reduce sleep anxietySupplements for sleep and nervous system regulationPharmacological supports, including melatonin, magnesium, and glycineEmily Kate and Gez then reflect on the interview, sharing their lived experience of these strategies, discussing supplements in more detail, and highlighting why a personalised approach to sleep is essential when the nervous system, metabolism, and brain are highly dysregulated.About David JoffeDavid Joffe is a senior staff physician at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, with specialist interests in insomnia, restless legs syndrome, non-invasive ventilation (NIV), sleep apnea, and Long Covid–related sleep disorders. He is Vice Chair of the World Health Network’s Long Covid Advisory Group.