March 15 is a day to celebrate good sleep and create awareness about lowering sleep problems in society through better prevention and management. Sunil Mittal, director of Cosmos Institute of Mental Health & Behavioural Sciences (CIMBS), spoke to Kundan Pandey on managing the dangers of sleep disorders and how people can manage their lives better by ensuring good sleep. Excerpts:
How serious is the problem of sleep disorders?
A survey conducted by Regus, a multinational that provides flexible working hours, says that in India 31 per cent of working people sacrifice sleep to fit in the work and personal commitments, while 22 per cent feel they have to over-compensate for time taken off personal matters. It is said that globally 29 per cent of professionals sleep less than they wish to, to fit all their commitments. The survey interviewed more than 24,000 business people from over 90 countries.
Insomnia can involve being unable to get to sleep, waking up in the middle of the night, or waking up too early in the morning. It is prevalent in two-thirds of adults and in 9-12 per cent of adults on chronic basis and up to 25 per cent in elderly. It is twice as common in women as men. It leads to increased risk of automobile accidents and alcohol abuse.
Another common problem is sleep phase shift disorder. Despite sleeping eight hours at different times, people do not achieve the result of same duration of sleep during night. There is sleep architecture including non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement sleep and also four phases of NREM sleep. Achieving the architecture means a lot like you might be sleeping for few hours, but not completed the cycle/architecture; few restoration processes won’t be completed. If time shifts, the architecture also gets disturbed.
How important is the sleep for human beings?
An experiment on rat shows sleep importance. A rat died only in three weeks when it was kept awake continuously. No such experiment has been conducted on human beings. But, it is quite clear that the sleep helps individuals to restore body function. Erratic sleep habits prevent training of ‘biological clocks’ in our brains that help control our alertness and ability to sleep. If one does not get proper sleep, he or she can face many problems in life. The worst is possibility of dementia in older age. Most adults require around eight hours of sleep. Teenagers and children require even more sleep due to their body activity.
What are major reasons for rising sleep disorders?
Change in lifestyle is the major reason. Social networking sites, online chatting, computer games and increasing TV time are depriving school children of sleep which leads to a number of health problems like anxiety, depression or irritability. We always try to push the limit. It was not the case earlier and people were easily satisfied with their achievement. But now everybody is in competition and wants to push the extreme limits; if one is able to work for few more hours, he will try to extend work hours further. This has added to the problems in sleeping schedule.
How can people ensure healthy sleep?
Paying attention to good sleep hygiene is the most important thing you can do to maintain good sleep. Don’t lose sleep over losing sleep. Take extra time to follow healthy sleeping habits, and you will be more productive, healthier, alert, and functioning at your best. Avoid vigorous exercise shortly before retiring. At least three to four hours of the gap between exercise and sleeping time is required. Avoid late afternoon/evening naps, and do not allow yourself to doze off while reading or watching television prior to bedtime. If someone has compulsion to sleep during the day, he or she must develop it as habit and follow it as routine behaviour. Watching television on bed or reading develops a type of conditioning and then you are required to follow it. To avoid the problem, the bed should be used only when you intend sleep.
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Machi 15 ni siku ya kusherehekea usingizi mzuri na kuunda ufahamu juu ya kupunguza matatizo ya usingizi katika jamii kupitia kuzuia na usimamizi bora. Sunil Mittal, Mkurugenzi wa Taasisi ya Cosmos ya Afya ya Akili na Sayansi ya Utendaji (CIMBS), alizungumza na Kundan Pandey juu ya kusimamia hatari za matatizo ya usingizi na jinsi watu wanaweza kusimamia maisha yao vizuri kwa kuhakikisha usingizi mzuri. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""Madhara ya usingizi ni makubwa kiasi gani?" Utafiti uliofanywa na Regus, kampuni ya kimataifa inayotoa masaa ya kazi rahisi, unasema kuwa India asilimia 31 ya wafanyakazi wanadhabihu usingizi ili kufanikisha kazi na ahadi za kibinafsi, wakati asilimia 22 wanahisi wanahitaji kulipia zaidi wakati wa mambo ya kibinafsi. Kwa mujibu wa ripoti hiyo, asilimia 29 ya wataalamu duniani wanalala usingizi mdogo kuliko wanavyotaka ili kukidhi mahitaji yao. Uchunguzi huo ulifanyika kwa kushirikiana na wafanyabiashara zaidi ya 24,000 kutoka nchi zaidi ya 90. Ukosefu wa usingizi waweza kuhusisha kutoweza kulala, kuamka katikati ya usiku, au kuamka mapema sana asubuhi. Ugonjwa huu ni wa kawaida kwa asilimia mbili ya watu wazima, na kwa asilimia tisa hadi kumi na mbili ya watu wazima kwa msingi wa muda mrefu, na hadi asilimia ishirini na tano kwa wazee. Ni ya kawaida mara mbili kwa wanawake kuliko kwa wanaume. Inaongoza kwenye hatari iliyoongezeka ya aksidenti za magari na matumizi mabaya ya kileo. Tatizo jingine la kawaida ni ugonjwa wa kubadilika-badilika kwa awamu za usingizi. Hata kama watu wanalala kwa saa nane kwa wakati tofauti, hawapati matokeo ya usingizi wa muda uleule usiku. Kuna aina mbili za usingizi: Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) na Rapid Eye Movement (REM) na kuna awamu nne za usingizi. Kufikia usanifu inamaanisha mengi kama unaweza kuwa usingizi kwa masaa machache, lakini si kukamilika mzunguko / usanifu; mchakato wa kurudisha chache si kukamilika. Wakati unapobadilika, usanifu-ujenzi pia huharibiwa. Usingizi ni muhimu kadiri gani kwa binadamu? Jaribio juu ya panya linaonyesha umuhimu wa usingizi. Panya mmoja alikufa baada ya majuma matatu tu alipokuwa amelala bila kulala. Hakuna jaribio kama hilo ambalo limefanywa kwa wanadamu. Lakini, ni wazi kabisa kwamba usingizi husaidia watu kurudisha utendaji wa mwili. Mazoea yasiyo ya kawaida ya usingizi huzuia mazoezi ya "saa za kibiolojia" katika ubongo wetu ambazo husaidia kudhibiti uangalifu wetu na uwezo wetu wa kulala. Ikiwa mtu hawali usingizi wa kutosha, anaweza kukabili matatizo mengi maishani. Jambo baya zaidi ni uwezekano wa kupatwa na ugonjwa wa akili katika umri wa kukomaa. Watu wazima wengi huhitaji usingizi wa saa nane hivi. Vijana na watoto huhitaji usingizi zaidi kwa sababu ya utendaji wa mwili wao. Ni nini kisababishi kikuu cha kuongezeka kwa matatizo ya usingizi? Mabadiliko katika mtindo wa maisha ndiyo sababu kuu. Mitandao ya kijamii, mazungumzo ya mtandaoni, michezo ya kompyuta na kuongezeka kwa muda wa kutazama televisheni huwafanya watoto wa shule wasilala, na kusababisha matatizo kadhaa ya afya kama vile wasiwasi, kushuka moyo au kukasirika. Sikuzote sisi hujaribu kuvunja mipaka. Haikuwa hivyo hapo awali na watu waliridhika kwa urahisi na mafanikio yao. Lakini sasa kila mtu yuko katika mashindano na anataka kushinikiza mipaka ya kupita kiasi; kama mtu anaweza kufanya kazi kwa saa chache zaidi, atajaribu kupanua masaa ya kazi zaidi. Hilo limeongeza matatizo katika ratiba ya kulala. Watu wanaweza kufanya nini ili wawe na usingizi mzuri? Kuangalia afya ya usingizi ni jambo muhimu zaidi ambalo unaweza kufanya ili kudumisha usingizi mzuri. Usipoteze usingizi kwa sababu ya kupoteza usingizi. Tumia muda zaidi kufuata mazoea mazuri ya kulala, na utakuwa na matokeo zaidi, afya, tahadhari, na kufanya kazi kwa njia bora zaidi. Epuka kufanya mazoezi makali muda mfupi kabla ya kulala. Ni muhimu kuweka angalau masaa matatu kati ya mazoezi na kulala. Epuka usingizi wa mchana au wa jioni, na usijiruhusu usingizi wakati wa kusoma au kutazama televisheni kabla ya kulala. Ikiwa mtu ana nguvu ya kulala wakati wa mchana, lazima awe na tabia ya kulala na kuifuata kama tabia ya kawaida. Kuangalia televisheni au kusoma kitandani huendeleza aina ya hali na kisha unahitajika kuifuata. Ili kuepuka tatizo hilo, kitanda hicho kinapaswa kutumiwa tu wakati unapokusudia kulala. Sisi ni sauti kwako; wewe umekuwa msaada kwetu. Pamoja tunajenga uandishi wa habari ambao ni huru, wa kuaminika na usio na hofu. Unaweza kutusaidia zaidi kwa kutoa mchango. Hii itamaanisha mengi kwa uwezo wetu kukuletea habari, mitazamo na uchambuzi kutoka chini ili tuweze kufanya mabadiliko pamoja. Maoni ni moderated na kuchapishwa tu baada ya tovuti moderator's idhini. Tafadhali tumia kitambulisho cha barua pepe halisi na toa jina lako. Maelezo yaliyochaguliwa yanaweza pia kutumiwa katika sehemu ya "Barua" ya toleo la kuchapishwa la Down To Earth.