Insomnia: Should I lose sleep worrying about it?

Presented here are four case studies of average Joes like you and me, who leave for work at 7 am and get home zombied at 7 pm. In the next 5 or 6 hours, we pack in grocery shopping, cooking, eating, family time, answering e-mails, blogging, browsing, phone calls, meetings and of course, watching our beloved TV shows.

Sleep? Hah! Now that is an afterthought.

These cases were reported to different physicians with varied symptoms. Can you guess the common culprit in all these cases?

Case I

Yogita Bhalla, a vivacious and budding 24-year-old journalist in Delhi seemed to have an eternal sniffling tap in her nasal cavity. At her annual screening she was told it was probably rhinitis or sinusitis or allergic reactions to pollution she was exposed to during her long commuting hours. Well, whatever it was, it made her irritable and she tires easily.

Yogita tried Ayurvedic treatment; extra vitamins and steam inhalations, but all these only gave her temporary relief. That's when she decided to go home to her family in Coorg for a one-week holiday. After being away from the heat, dust, travelling and the stress of constantly meeting deadlines and just 'chilling' she felt a lot better. Were her shift timings and lack of sleep to blame, she wondered?

The latest studies have shown that lack of sleep weakens the immune system, which can lead to an increased risk of contracting infections -- especially common cold and sniffles, diabetes and chronic memory loss.

Case II

Early one morning at 3 am, Mr. Sanjay Sujan, 35 and an active father of one had severe chest pains. These past 12 years he had worked long, stressful hours in the hotel industry trying to climb the corporate ladder. He immediately woke his wife and asked her to call both a doctor and an ambulance. On investigation they found Sanjay had a blocked artery that needed surgery. There was a significant amount of calcification in his arteries as well.

Case III

A year ago, 22-year-old Shreya Krishnan landed a BPO job that she had always wanted. Now, she has become a high performance achiever and loves the carefree spending her salary affords her. Shreya recently visited a gynecologist because her periods had become irregular in the past three months and she often felt depressed, irritable and unable to concentrate. She was constantly tired and her skin had lost its glow. The worst part was that she knew she was living off black coffee and cigarette breaks.

Case IV

Rahul Khanna, a 28-year-old Mumbaikar was putting on an uncontrollable amount of weight ever since he took up the job of senior technician in a medical transcription company. He was responsible for all file transfers to various agencies and hospitals from where the cases originated. He was often pressed for time and ended up transmitting files late at night from home, hardly averaging 4-5 hours of sleep every day.

All these four cases have a common culprit -- lack of sleep and or insomnia. A recent survey has revealed that more than 80 percent of skilled workers in large Indian metros suffer from insomnia.

Sleep deprivation can have both immediate and long-term effects.

Short-term effects of sleep deprivation

• Mood swings and depression.
• Short term memory loss and lack of concentration.
• Irregular periods in women.
• Impaired job performance.
• Increased risk of developing chronic health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, respiratory chest infections, GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) etc.
• A diminished ability to come up with a plan and carry out activities. Several studies show that lack of sleep causes thinking processes to slow down, making it harder to focus. It can also lead to faulty decision-making and more risk by slowing down your reflexes, a dangerous situation when you are driving.

Long term effects of sleep deprivation:

• Increased risk of weight gain and obesity: Sleep deprivation prevents the body's production of appetite suppressor leptin, instead boosting the production of the appetite stimulant grehlin. Studies have found insomniacs are more likely to be overweight or obese and prefer eating foods that are higher in calories and carbohydrates.
• A lack of adequate sleep may also trigger the release of adrenaline, cortisol and other stress hormones during the day. These hormones prevent the much-needed dip in your blood pressure levels that occur during sleep, thus increasing the risk of heart disease.
• People who chronically do not get enough sleep have higher blood levels of C-reactive protein, which puts them at a greater risk of developing hardened arteries (atherosclerosis) and cardiovascular disease.

10 practical suggestions to help fight insomnia

• Try and consciously force yourself into a regular sleep regimen.
• Don't ever go to bed without dinner, but never eat a heavy meal before bedtime. Instead drink warm milk, eat a banana or sip a cup of soothing herbal tea before going to bed.
• Take a warm soothing bath before getting into bed -- it helps to relax the mind and body. You could add bath salts for relaxing purposes.
• Do not exercise too late in the day. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes on most days but not later than 5 or 6 hours before your bedtime.
• Avoid watching mentally stimulating movies or reading a thriller before bedtime.
• Avoid smoking (nicotine), alcohol consumption and caffeine stimulants like tea, coffee and chocolates before bedtime.
• Use aroma therapy -- lavender, mahabhringraj and jasmine oil are known to be great sleep-inducers.
• Listening to soothing music or reading a book before going to bed can help.
• Relaxation techniques like meditation, deep breathing and massages are known to help

These are mere suggestions. I myself am guilty of getting just six hours of sleep a night. It's time for all of us to follow this lead.

Poonam Vaswani is a dietician working with NutritionVista.com