93% of Indians suffer from sleep disorder

OST Bureau

Bhubaneswar, Sep 3:

As many as an estimated 93 per cent of people in India suffer from sleep disorders and Odisha too is witnessing a steep rise in sleep disorder cases over the last few years. This was revealed by Dr Samir Sahu, senior consultant in the critical care unit of Apollo Hospital while addressing an awareness programme on common sleep disorders organized by the Philips Electronics India Limited (PEIL) here on Monday.

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Highlighting the causes, symptoms and treatment available for sleeping disorders, Sahu said lack of sleep leads to various serious health problems including high blood pressure, increased risk of diabetes, weight gain and irregular heartbeats.

“If symptoms like lack of sleep and snoring are ignored without treatment then a more serious condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), could arise, which is characterised by repeated cessation of breathing during sleep and it can lead to heart diseases and, in certain cases, even trigger heart attacks”, he added.

He said the most common symptoms of OSA are loud and chronic snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, frequent urination at night, morning headache, memory or learning problems and inability to concentrate, feeling irritable and depressed and mood swing.

He, however, said there are several treatment options including Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and also surgical option that can help address the problem once it is diagnosed.

“Most people and even doctors are not aware of OSA though it is as common as diabetes and blood pressure. If it is treated, there would be a drastic improvement in the blood pressure, diabetes, paralysis, memory loss and heart failure”, Dr Sahu pointed out.

Present on the occasion, senior director (Home Health Care) of PHIL Bidul Dhaul said that the company has been working towards spreading awareness of the sleep disorder and providing sleep-related solutions for diagnosis and therapy, offering requisite education and training to the medical fraternity and monitoring post-therapy patient progress.

He also said that the company has also assisted many hospitals and clinics in Odisha for establishing seven sleep labs, two of which are at the AIIMS and Apollo Hospital.

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