City losing sleep over sleep disorders

NEW DELHI: Sleep is no longer about dreams and nightmares. Urban lifestyles have robbed us of nature''s natural cure for fatigued minds and bodies.
According to studies being conducted at various major city hospitals, a person having disturbed sleep can die of stroke at night or meet with an accident in the morning.
"Usually, we study sleep patterns of those people who complain of fragmented sleep, snoring, headaches, hypertension or drowsiness," said Dr Randeep Guleria, associate professor of medicine at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
"Neglecting a disturbed sleep pattern can be dangerous. Several accidents due to sleep disorders have been reported in the West. Sleep studies are popular abroad. It is, however, catching up in India now," Dr Guleria said.
In Delhi, sleep studies are being conducted at Indraprastha Apollo, AIIMS and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, among other hospitals.
The sleep laboratory of the medicine department at AIIMS, which is open three times a week, attends to about 20 new patients every week.
"We have a lab where a patient is asked to stay overnight in a silent room and a device is attached to the patient to observe chest, abdomen and muscle movement, and the nasal system," Dr Guleria said. Another device used is electro-encephalography to measure the electrical activity of the brain.
Sleep requirement varies from person to person.
People who do more of physical labour require more rest. On an average, six hours of sleep is adequate for an individual, say doctors.
There are four stages of sleep — dozing (takes minimum sleep time), unequivocal sleep (easily arousable), deep sleep transition (not easily arousable) and cerebral sleep (difficult to arouse). If one was able to reach the third level, it was adequate, said a doctor.
Senior consultant and in-charge of sleep study in Apollo Hospital, Dr M S Kanwar, said most patients suffer from hyper-somnia or insomnia.
"Abnormalities like sleep walking, talking during sleep, rapid eye movement in consciousness are some of the after-effects of the disorder," he said.
Obstructive sleep apnoeia (OSA) is one of the major disorders and is life-threatening. A person suffering from chronic OSA can have a stroke during sleep.
"Sometimes, the oxygen level in patients suffering from OSA drops, choking or disrupting sleep," said Dr Kanwar.
"Primary snoring or an obese snorer can be treated by studying the sleeping pattern and changing lifestyles. Surgery is only required in certain cases like rectifying anatomical features of throat," the doctor said.
About three new patients come everyday with sleep disorders at Apollo Hospital. "Obesity, lack of exercise or excessive intake of alcohol also affects sleep. Often, people having unnatural timings and long working hours complain of sleep disorders," Dr Kanwar said.