Feeling Monday blues? Lack of sleep may just kill you

New Delhi: Even though sleep is hard to come by in these days when a modern lifestyle has won the world's preference, an appropriate amount of it is of huge essence.

However, the rat race that everyone has become an integral part of has a higher priority in people's lives than how a certain lifestyle choice can prove detrimental to their health.

People have often begun to complain about insomnia, sleep deprivation, disturbed sleep, etc, but that seems to have become pertinent considering the fast-paced world we live in.

'Catching up' on sleep is one thing, but the fact remains that you are ultimately missing out the required amount of 'Z's. The impact of sleep deprivation on health has been shown and proven through many studies carried out over the years.

Unfortunately, sleep deprivation is the culprit behind a host of potentially fatal diseases, a leading expert has said.

Speaking to the Guardian, Professor Matthew Walker, director of the Centre for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley, said that sleep deprivation affected “every aspect of our biology” and was widespread in modern society.

Politicians and employers, he said, were not taking the problem seriously – often stigmatising signs of sleep deprivation or the desire to get a decent night’s sleep as laziness.

According to a report in the Independent UK, electric lights, television and computer screens, longer commutes, the blurring of the line between work and personal time, and a host of other aspects of modern life have contributed to sleep deprivation, which is defined as less than seven hours a night.

But this has been linked to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity and poor mental health among other health problems. In short, a lack of sleep is killing us.

“No aspect of our biology is left unscathed by sleep deprivation.

“It sinks down into every possible nook and cranny. And yet no one is doing anything about it. Things have to change: in the workplace and our communities, our homes and families.

“But when did you ever see an NHS poster urging sleep on people? When did a doctor prescribe, not sleeping pills, but sleep itself? It needs to be prioritised, even incentivised.

“Sleep loss costs the UK economy over £30bn a year in lost revenue, or 2 per cent of GDP. I could double the NHS budget if only they would institute policies to mandate or powerfully encourage sleep,” the Guardian quoted Professor Walker as saying.

Walker also , however, believes that in the developed world sleep is strongly associated with weakness, even shame.

“We want to seem busy, and one way we express that is by proclaiming how little sleep we’re getting. It’s a badge of honour,” he said.

He said he insists that he has a “non-negotiable, eight-hour sleep opportunity every night” and keeps “very regular hours”.

“I take my sleep incredibly seriously because I have seen the evidence,” said Professor Walker, whose book Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams is due out next month.

While healthcare workers, employers and politicians all needed to pay greater attention to the benefits of sleep, Professor Walker said people needed to do so on an individual level.

Saying that people prioritise other things over sleep. “No one wants to give up time with their family or entertainment, so they give up sleep instead,” he said.

“And anxiety plays a part. We’re a lonelier, more depressed society.

“Alcohol and caffeine are more widely available. All these are the enemies of sleep.”