Delhiites are sleeping less. This alarming diagnosis by city doctors came on Thursday, the eve of World Sleep Day (WSD). Observed on March 17, the day looks at important sleep-related issues.
Good sleep plays a critical role in overall well-being and protecting one against cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity to boosting neurocognitive functions, mental health and longevity, according to doctors.
But what’s keeping the Capital awake?
“Stress, the need to stay connected all the time, chasing targets and deadlines, noise pollution, extensive travel time, night shifts and very limited time for self are the a main culprits behind this,” said Vinit Banga, Department of Neurology, Institute of Human and Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS).
Quality of life
“Delhi has become a 24x7 city. Delhiites are simply not allowing themselves to relax and work towards having a good quality seven to eight hour sleep. We are forcing ourselves to staying awake longer and longer to have a better quality of life, little realising that the quality of life suffers irreversibly if you don’t sleep well,” he said.
Sandeep Nayar, the HOD of Respiratory Medicine, Allergy and Sleep Disorders at BLK Super Speciality Hospital said: “Among the healthy population, stress is the primary culprit that’s keeping the city awake. Delhi youngsters are sleep-deprived these days owing to personal and professional stress. Most importantly, stress is not letting people have quality and undisturbed sleep. A healthy person who manages to sleep uninterrupted for five hours will wake up feeling feel fresh. Keeping television, laptop and other electronic items in the bedroom must be avoided at all cost as these affect sleep. Also, eating right is very important for mental peace.”
Sleep disorders
Doctors noted that more and more people in the city, even the world, are battling sleep disorders. In fact, recent studies have shown that the ill-effects of this condition are far more complex and dangerous.
According to Delhi Diabetes Research Centre chairperson Ashok Jhingan: “Sleep apnoea is like a triad. A disturbed sleep pattern leads to disturbed eating pattern which then leads to health problems. All three cause hypertension, high blood sugar and heart problems. It’s a vicious circle.”
Sleep apnoea
“More sleep apnoea leads to more health issues and this leads to joint pain, gallbladder diseases and heart problems. Sleep apnoea is a lifestyle disorder. Change your lifestyle before sleep apnoea changes you,” he added.
Several meta-analysis have suggested a close link between patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and hypertension. Sleep apnoea is characterised as a sleep disorder in which a person has disrupted sleep, which leads to snoring and/or shallow breathing.
While sleep apnoea hampers a person’s lifestyle and leads to low productivity, it’s largely left untreated because of its slow impact. However, recent studies suggest that untreated sleep apnoea could be one of the primary reasons behind an aggravated case of hypertension.
Sleep apnoea is one of the most ignored health conditions. While many are simply unaware, others who are aware of their disorder usually are not informed about the severe consequences of untreated sleep apnoea.
People who let this condition remain unchecked are four times more at the risk of a stroke and three times more at the risk of developing a heart disease. It’s also linked to a host of serious health conditions like diabetes, metabolic syndrome, increased weight gain, cardiac arrhythmias, heart attack, heart failure, memory impairment, premature ageing and even sudden death.
K. K. Aggarwal of Indian Medical Association said: “Untreated obstructive apnoea often results in high blood pressure, which can lead to an increase in heart size. This leads to higher risk of heart attacks and strokes.”
Atrial fibrillation
“People with sleep apnoea run the risk of higher chances cardiac arrhythmias, most common of which is atrial fibrillation. Lifestyle habits, which play an important role, can be managed effectively. Alcohol, smoking and some medications increase muscle relaxation, allowing the flesh of the throat to relax and disrupt airflow. Smoking also irritates the nasal passages and throat muscles, causing inflammation of these areas and restricting airflow,” he added.
Difficult to predict
Doctors, however, added that it’s difficult to predict the stage at which a disease could become the breeding ground for other diseases. While it’s comparatively easy to manage a lifestyle disease by effecting changes in your daily routine, living with co-morbidities is highly challenging. Two things need to be prioritised in such a scenario — limiting high-calorie food and the tendency to obsess and limit food. Youngsters in the city too aren’t untouched by sleep-related issues.
Sleeping patterns
Samir Parikh of the Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences at Fortis Healthcare added: “For a majority of teenagers today, waking up in time every morning has become one of the biggest hurdles. Despite being aware that their bodies need at least seven to nine hours of sleep per day, many students forego precious hours of sleep. They exhibit erratic sleeping patterns and get less sleep due to late night chats on their mobiles, checking their handsets in the middle of the night, spending time on social media, watching movies or using laptops to browse the Internet late into the night.”
