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Wake up to sleep disorders
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Sound sleep is not a passive ‘time-out’ but a must to keep illnesses at bay
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Photo: K.R. Deepak
Sleep well Some can catch up with it anytime, anywhere
If you thought “early to bed, early to rise…” was just a boring old cliché, think again. Increasingly, research in sleep medicine shows that getting a good night’s sleep might be the best thing you could do for your long-
term health, productivity at work and general well-being. “We spend one-third of our lives sleeping but give sleep very little importance,” says Dr. Anand Gersappe, medical director of the Sleep Medicine Centres of Western New York and assistant professor of Neurology at the State University of New York (SUNY), who recently gave a talk at the Madras Management Association.
Ringing the alarm bell
Here’s why that needs to change: according to Anand, poor sleeping habits can lead to heart attacks, heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, depression and thyroid disorders. On a more pragmatic level, it causes daytime sleepiness, difficulty in concentrating, memory problems and decreased work efficiency and productivity.
“Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairment in performance equivalent to alcohol intoxication,” says Anand. “Would you go to work drunk?”
The mistake most of us make is in thinking of sleep as a passive ‘time-out’ from our busy lives. In fact, it’s an incredibly complex, highly active process that is controlled by eight to 10 different brain centres and several neurotransmitters. During a typical night’s sleep, you pass through five stages — stages one to four, with stages three and four being deep sleep, and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep.
If you’re not going through all five stages, you’re not going to feel rested. Unfortunately, too many people today aren’t waking up feeling refreshed due to the prevalence of sleep disorders. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), for example, is today believed to occur in up to 25 per cent of the U.S. population, and studies suggest that its incidence is even greater in India.
Cause for concern
In people suffering from OSA, the breathing passage of the throat narrows during sleep, causing the lungs to not receive enough oxygen. The brain senses the drop in oxygen levels and makes you wake up briefly, raising your heart rate and blood pressure. One of the most distinctive indicators of OSA is excessively loud snoring (though not all snorers suffer from OSA), interrupted by pauses and gasps for air.
“In cases of severe OSA, you could stop breathing up to 100 times an hour — causing your heart to work overtime each time,” explains Anand.
Not surprisingly, OSA sufferers are at a high risk for heart problems, cholesterol, diabetes, depression, stroke and high blood pressure.
The good news is that minimally invasive CPAP therapy — where you wear a nasal mask that blows air down your throat at a constant pressure all night — has been shown to help. With the mushrooming of BPOs, the Shift Work sleep disorder is also becoming an increasingly big problem in India, says Anand: “Due to a disruption of their ‘circadian rhythm’ or body clock, night time workers find it difficult to fall asleep at the desired time and then find it hard to stay up at work. This makes them prone to cardiological, gastrointestinal and reproductive problems.”
And that’s just touching the tip of sleep disorder iceberg — in addition to breathing disorders such as OSA and Circadian Rhythm disorders such as the shift work disorder, there are over 30 types of insomnias, several parasomnias such as night terrors and Restless Leg Syndrome, and hypersomnias such as Narcolepsy (where the patient finds it hard to remain awake).
“Unfortunately there are no comprehensive sleep centres or training programmes for sleep medicine in India,” says Anand, who hopes to start both in India soon.
“I always say that if more attention was given to sleep medicine, we wouldn’t need to pour as much money into cardiac and ICU units in our hospitals.” Meanwhile, you can help yourself by getting plenty of shut-eye. As Anand put it, “Sleep well, and live well.”
Good sleep hygiene
Maintain a regular sleep schedule
Avoid caffeine and nicotine close to bedtime
Exercise regularly — ideally, finish six hours before bedtime
Avoid heavy meals just before bed — ideally finish three hours before
Keep your room dark, quiet, well-ventilated and cool
Keep the clock face turned away and don’t keep looking at the time
DIVYA KUMAR
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