NC Joshi Memorial oration for the year 2000
N. C. Joshi Memorial oration
for the year 2000 organized by Delhi Medical Association,
DMA House Daryaganj, New Delhi.
Read More
Want to ensure a good night’s sleep?
A recent survey revealed that sleep disorders affect an estimated 93% of the Indian population. Here are some tips from experts to help you get a good night's rest.
What can be more restful than a good night’s sleep? You really wouldn’t know unless you have a bad night’s sleep which means you wake up crabby – to say the least.
If you’re Indian (as most of us reading
Brunch
tend to be) chances are that you don’t often get a good night’s sleep. The Philips Sleep Survey, a study by Philips Electronics India Limited carried out by the Nielsen Company in December 2009, found out that sleep disorders affect an estimated 93% of the Indian population.
The survey (carried out among 5,600 respondents aged 35 to 65 years, across 25 cities in urban India with a population of 5 lakh and upwards) found that an astonishing 11 % of us take leave from work because of lack of sleep. Another interesting finding was that 58 % of us feel our work suffers from a lack of adequate sleep, with 11 % actually falling asleep at work.
With so many sleepless people around, clearly, it’s important to ensure that we don’t succumb to insomnia. “Sleep controls your day and also your performance, so it is important that you manage this well,” says Satyakam Sharma, business manager, Home Healthcare Solutions, Philips Healthcare India. Sleeping well, adds Dr. J C Suri, head of the department of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi, who established the first sleep lab in India, is also important for your well-being.
“You need a good night’s sleep to keep you going because that is when your batteries get recharged,” explains Dr. J C Suri. “Your brain uses the time when you are sleeping to store data that is relevant. It’s like a hard drive for your mind.”
Your brain tends to restore its energy in the initial hours of sleep so that it can use it while you are awake, says a study carried out by Dr. Radhika Basheer and Dr. Robert McCarley of Boston VA Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School, US. The study also proposed that brain energy levels are the key to nightly restoration. Even hotels are spending time figuring out how guests can get a good night’s sleep.
For instance, the ITC-Welcomgroup chain has a sleep index that measures everything from the thread count of the bedsheets to the decibel levels of the air-conditioning unit to ensure that a restful and sleep-inducing atmosphere is created in its rooms. The chain also has a WelcomSlumber kit featuring an eye mask, earplugs, and a selection of aromatherapy products, which is handed to all guests.
“We believe in the science of sleep because sleep has a larger dimension wherein all the senses come into play,” says Nakul Anand, chief executive of ITC-Welcomgroup. “You can offer the finest services and the greatest cuisines housed in the most stunning architecture, but if your guest hasn’t slept well, the purpose of his or her visit is completely defeated.”
What to do
A consistent pattern of good sleep does more for good health than you may imagine. Here are some tips from the experts
Use comfortable bedding
To begin with, your bedding needs to be comfortable. And by comfortable, we mean what is comfortable for you and not necessarily what is advertised as being the best. “A bed that is neither too hard nor too soft and a medium soft pillow is what is usually comfortable for most people. But if you are more comfortable on a hard bed – that’s fine as well,” advises Dr. M S Kanwar, senior consultant of respiratory medicine, critical care, and sleep disorders, at Apollo Hospital, Delhi. He adds, “What is not recommended is a very high pillow as it can be bad for your neck.”
Get into a relaxed mood
It is also important to give your body cues that it is time to slow down and sleep. So anything that relaxes you will usually help you sleep better – like listening to music (not head-banging stuff, though) or reading a book (preferably not a thriller that eggs you on to read more). Other cues include relaxation exercises, a warm shower (the change in body temperature can relax you), or a massage with your favorite lotion.
Wake up at the same time every day
“Sleep hygiene is very important,” says Dr. J C Suri of Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi. So wake up at the same time every day. This ensures your body follows a rhythm. “And your body will automatically want rest when it’s tired at the end of the day,” he adds.
Exercise in the evening
Dr. J C Suri also recommends any kind of exercise in the evening. “Evening is a better time to exercise than morning,” he says. “The fact that you tire your body in the evening will ensure that you sleep well.”
What not to do
Some things are definitely not conducive to a good night’s sleep
Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine
All three affect your ability to sleep soundly. Alcohol may seem to help you sleep well as it slows brain activity, but you end up having a fragmented sleep, so avoid it, especially on working days.
Avoid light in the bedroom
Studies show that even a small amount of light can sometimes interfere with sleep.
Don’t surf the Net or watch TV
Both these activities are bound to activate your brain and interfere with good sleep.
Don’t worry
Dr. Kanwar strongly recommends a worry diary. “If you think a lot, it’s a good idea to plan your next day the evening before,” he says. “When you write things down, you tend to put things in a more explanatory manner. So you’ll come up with solutions to problems and plans for the next day. If you get into the habit of doing this before you sleep, you’ll be more relaxed, knowing things are under control.”
Don’t eat a heavy meal
According to Dr. Kanwar, people often don’t realize that what they eat at night could interfere with their ability to sleep soundly. “It’s important to eat a light dinner at least three hours before you sleep,” he says.
Don’t clutter your bedroom
“A bedroom should never be cluttered,” says feng shui expert Naresh Singal. “Also, the bed should be reserved only for sleeping and lovemaking. Avoid mirrors that reflect your image when you’re on the bed as it interferes with your energy levels. And if you have two mattresses on a double bed, spread a single dhurrie over them before you use a bedsheet.” He also suggests that you avoid too many paintings in the bedroom and do not use the color red in this space.
Sleep medicine: Evolution in India
Ten years ago,
sleep medicine was in its infancy in India. The first sleep disorders center was started by Dr. J C Suri at Safdarjung hospital, and sleep medicine remained a pulmonologist's domain as in the west.
Over the years, the ISDA and the ISRS have held many national conferences and symposia as well as practical workshops fuelling the interest, knowledge, and practice of sleep medicine, particularly among neurologists and allied specialties such as psychiatry, ENT as well as physicians. As a result, there are many centers in India, which cater to the diagnosis and treatment of sleep-related disorders at various levels of expertise.
The article published in this issue typically projects the changing scenario over 8 years, the use of proper questionnaires, better equipment as well as the increase in public awareness of sleep-related disorders, particularly obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and specialized training in sleep medicine evaluation and its diagnostic accuracy. With the boom of increasing incidence of obesity, metabolic syndrome, there is raising public awareness of disorders such as snoring, UARS, and OSA. This increase in diagnostic accuracy by use of relevant questionnaires and better diagnostic tools and similar patterns of changing scenarios are now seen in most of the advanced sleep centers in India but have not been reported. There are very few epidemiological studies to depict the exact prevalence and incidence of OSA, RLS in India.
Read More
How to improve your respiratory health during winter.
First critical care unit
Established the first critical care unit
under Physician care exclusively in north India
in 1990
Read More
Sleep Medicine in India
Introduced the field of
Clinical Sleep Medicine in India
Read More
Delhi Pollution Can Cause Lung Cancer And Premature Death
Tackling a heavy load of patients Dr. J.C. Suri, a leading pulmonologist, says that high levels of air pollution can also result in underdeveloped lungs in children and even the possibility of lung cancer.
Tackling a heavy load of patients, many of them on nebulizers, Dr. J.C. Suri, a leading pulmonologist and head of the respiratory medicine department at New Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, says that high levels of air pollution may cause a rapid deterioration in heart and lung patients, even early death. In an interview with Lola Nayar, Dr. Suri warns that pollution can also result in underdeveloped lungs in children and even the possibility of lung cancer.
What is the long-term impact of air pollution? Can it lead to killer diseases such as lung cancer?
Several studies have been done to evaluate the long-term impact of exposure to various air pollutants. The long-term impact can be chronic respiratory diseases. People with chronic heart diseases or respiratory diseases are more vulnerable and their condition becomes worse. When the pollutant levels are high and the exposure is of a longer duration, then there can be damage to the lungs due to the wide variety of chemicals and particulate matter, which can slowly damage the lungs and cause fibrosis. It can also cause lung cancer, which is associated with smoke and combustion fumes, particularly from automobiles. The various nitrogenous compounds are also associated with the risk of lung cancer. Lung cancer is one extreme, but in the case of those having chronic respiratory diseases, or those who have suffered from angina or heart attacks, undergone stenting, or other heart surgeries, there could be a rapid progression of the disease. This could lead to early or premature deaths.
Are those with asthma and other respiratory issues the most vulnerable? Or can it take a toll on the health of even otherwise healthy individuals?
The most vulnerable are those with chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and those with heart conditions. Senior citizens are also vulnerable as they may be having undetected heart diseases; many have hypertension. Diabetics, pregnant women, and children are vulnerable for a number of reasons. As children are usually outdoors, playing in the parks, they are physically more active than adults and take in much more air per kg body weight, which also means inhaling more pollutants. Children’s lungs are still developing, so they are much more affected by the pollutants. This would have a long-term impact as their lungs may not develop to their full potential. Around 10 percent of children may be asthmatic and their problem may become much worse. Even among healthy people, there are many who may be genetically more vulnerable to pollutant effects.
Are issues related to smog and other air pollution events restricted to the winter months or are citizens increasingly at risk throughout the year?
The effects of air pollutants are weather-specific also. When we talk about air pollution, we talk about the air quality index. In the Clean Air Act, four types of pollutants have been identified. The most important is particulate matter. The other thing is the ozone, particularly the ground-level ozone. There are two types of ozone—healthy and unhealthy. The ozone that is 6-20 miles above us protects us from ultraviolet rays, but the ozone at the ground level is produced due to pollution by vehicles or coal combustion, or power plants. When there is plenty of sunlight exposure, it results in the release of ground-level ozone. So, ground-level ozone pollution will be more in the warmer months. On the other hand, particulates, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide—what goes into the air quality index—are found more in winter. The risk of carbon monoxide in particular rises in winter due to incomplete combustion of carbon when coal is burnt as the supply of oxygen is poor. Depending on the conditions, particulates can be there throughout the year.
In particulates, you have two types—the coarse (10 microns) and the fine (2.5 microns). The coarse particulates are caused by crushing and grinding of stones or when vehicles ply on the roads and the road dust become airborne. So if you live near roads with traffic movement, you would be inhaling the coarse dust throughout the year. The fine particulates come from automobile, wood or forest fires, wood or coal fuels in homes, agarbattis, and candles. Many of the sources of pollution are perennial, but due to lack of sun, the levels of pollution can go up further in the winter months. In winter, there is increased risk due to carbon monoxide as it gets attached to our hemoglobin, impacting oxygen supply to vital organs. This makes people vulnerable to heart attacks, angina, and so on.
Read More
How to improve your respiratory health during winter.
Shurveer Oration at RNT Medical College, Udaipur in August 1999
Shurveer Oration
at RNT Medical College, Udaipur
in August 1999
Read More
Charu Chanderchur oration
Charu Chanderchur oration at Gorakhpur in
Dec. 1998