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46%
Indians, the highest in Asia Sleep for less than six
hours, 64% wake up prior to 7 am among the highest in
the world, 61 % sleeps for less than seven hours a day
and 45% Indians say that work hours are responsible
for having changed their sleep schedules.
 Sleep,
the only natural elixir that repairs the body, has given
many scientists sleepless nights, resulting in numerous
studies which prove that sleeping hours have decreased
across the globe. Every country now sleeps an average
of two hours less than it did a hundred years ago. The
mapping of the sleep deprivation has been associated
with Thomas Edison’s invention of electricity which
dramatically changed people’s sleep habits.
A
recent AC Nielsen study on sleep habits around world
underlines these changing rhythms. As many as 40 percent
of people in the Asia-Pacific countries burn the mid-night
oil as compared to 34 per cent Americans and 32 per
cent Europeans. Indians admit to a remarkable change
in sleep patterns in the past decade. 40 per cent Indians
go to bed between 11 pm and midnight as compared to
27 percent in Japan and 23 percent in Australia. The
Portuguese are the biggest night owls in the world and
the Kiwis and Aussies, the biggest sleep catchers in
the region. India is among the top five early-rising
nations in the world and the only country where 24 per
cent people say family and children determine sleep
habits.
To
become a part of the 24-hour society, Indians are taking
sleep deprivation in their gait without realizing the
damage it may cause on the health. As phones ring incessantly,
TV channels spew out news and entertainment round the
clock, partying becomes a part of urban culture and
call-centres scramble thousands of body clocks, many
Indians are giving sleep a low priority in their daily
diaries. So only 4 percent Indians say that daylight
hours-the conventional way to determine sleep schedules-play
a role in their sleep habits, compared to 6 percent
in Australia and 27 percent in Korea.
| Injecting
the Sleepless in India |
- The
long shift- Working and waking hours have
increased dramatically, with urban India becoming
ambitious, global and call-centric.
- Net
Nights- Purposeful or aimless surfing, chatting
on the Internet and checking e-mails keep
a majority of people awake past midnight.
- Party
peaks- Work hard, play hard is the new dictum
of urban India. The most rocking parties begin
after 10 pm and pub-hopping adds to the sleepless
hours.
- Telephonic
Trysts- Long chat sessions with friends on
the phone well past midnight keep many up.
- Travel
Toll- More people are traveling out of India
than they did in the past decade. The jet
lag due to different time zones takes its
toll.
- The
late show- Films, at home or in theatres,
gives people a big high. It is one of the
main reasons for people battling sleep
- Homework
hour- Studying for an additional academic
degree along with full-time job has become
a common pursuit. Late night or early morning
is the best time to finish assignments.
- Creative
calling-Writing, painting, listening or composing
music, more and more people are taking out
time for themselves.
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| Other
side of Midnight |
- Sleep
rests and refreshes the brain while its deprivation
impairs the mind and dulls the nervous system
resulting in neuro-cognitive disorders. Going
sleepless for over a day can affect performance
to the same extent as blood alcohol level
above the legal limit.
- Sleeplessness
disturbs the body’s biological rhythms,
leaving a person with only 80 percent of functioning
capability.
- Lack
of one night’s sleep results in a 30
percent drop in cognitive performance. Poor
decision making, irritability, loss of temper
and short-term memory loss follow.
- Sleep
deficit has been directly linked with susceptibility
to coronary heart disease, high blood pressure,
diabetes, even heart failure in extreme cases.
- Fatigue,
the most common side effect of sleeplessness,
often leads to body pains, especially in the
lower back and head.
- A
mounting sleep debt means a weakening immune
system. The body becomes more prone to infections
and viral fevers.
- Behavioral
effects of sleep deficit include depression,
anxiety and a low responsiveness to emergency
situations.
|
 And
the sleep researchers all over the world agree that
whatever people might claim, lack of sleep dulls the
mind and impairs the nervous system. That may just be
urban India’s new danger- a majority of the population
facing neurological and immune problems due to the mounting
sleep debt.
Sleep
mimics wakefulness in many ways and circadian rhythms
vary from person to person. Genetic predisposition,
along with habits and adaptability, determines the duration
and quality of sleep. The owls may be most productive
and vibrant and vibrant during night and the fowls may
rise and shine early, bursting with ideas and energy
as soon as they are out of bed. Yet wakefulness and
restedness are not interchangeable. They are equally
vital and interdependent. Finally it is about which
side of the bed you want to get off.
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8:38:31 AM 
