Cognitive Rehabilitation May Help Treat Long Covid, Study Says

“We usually tell them, ‘Talk to yourself, describe to yourself what you’re doing,’” Vanova says. “If, for example, if they are cooking, we say, ‘Pretend that you are in a cooking show, and talk yourself through the instructions, so you stay in touch with what you’re actually doing.’” It’s also important to learn how to take a cognitive break, which can be focused breathing for a period of 5 minutes for every 10 minutes of activity, for instance, says Vanova. 

To be included in the study, Long Covid patients had to have objective cognitive impairment. Vanova or a colleague met with about 40 people for one hour a week for ten weeks, helping them set a series of personalized goals (like writing a report for 30 minutes without needing to stop), and teaching them strategies to try out to achieve them. A separate control group received no treatment.