The association between sleep and psychological distress among New York City healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

•Three out of 4 healthcare workers (HCWs) had insomnia symptoms during the pandemic.•Insomnia is associated with a doubling of the prevalence of depressive symptoms in HCWs.•HCWs with insomnia had a 50% and 70% higher prevalence of stress and anxiety.•Short sleep was also associated with a higher prevalence of psychological distress.•Sleep may be an interventional target to decrease psychological distress among HCWs. Healthcare workers (HCWs) treating patients with COVID-19 report psychological distress. We examined whether disturbed sleep was associated with psychological distress in New York City (NYC) HCWs during the initial peak of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). HCWs completed a survey screening for acute stress (4-item Primary Care PTSD screen), depressive (Patient Health Questionaire-2), and anxiety (2-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale) symptoms. Insomnia symptoms (modified item from the Insomnia Severity Index) and short sleep (SS, sleep duration