“The worst thing in the world
is to try to sleep and not to”, says F. Scott Fitzgerald. Absolutely correct.
24x7 our life does move in consonance with mother earth's movement round the
Energy God, Sun. Morning to noon to evening to finally night, the day long
activities are positioned accordingly. But rightly or wrongly, in the name of
LPG (Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization) or otherwise, the
natural character of people's daily routine, in culturally and
traditionally strong countries like India too, underwent changes, more for
the worse, particularly for the urban population. Even a normal nightly
sleeping habit is profoundly affected. The age old saying, "Early to
bed and early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise’ is no longer
considered worth appreciating and practising by many. The reasons may also be
many, but the fact remains as William Shakespeare writes, ‘Sleep that
knits up the ravelled sleeve of care. The death of each day's life, sore
labour's bath. Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, chief
nourisher in life’s feast.’
Doctors and medical
researchers are of the firm view that a good sleep at night is as essential for
proper health, as food and exercise. Studies have shown that adults
sleeping for 7-8 hours every night have fewer chances of contracting diabetes
in the long run, than those who sleep for fewer hours. The science behind it
claims that sleep calms the brain and facilitates the normal hormone secretion
necessary for the body's strong defence system as well. It is also
interesting to know the deep relationship between sleep and immunity. In fact,
a good immune system and good sleep are interdependent and mutually beneficial.
Experts do say that sleep is actually known to be a predictor of our immune
health.
It has also been medically
proved beyond any doubt that much of our body's regeneration processes take
place during those sleeping hours at night. Obviously, lack of sleep, more so
of quality sleep, upsets the normal hormonal balance which is one of the major
causes of weak metabolism-immunity and consequently of several diseases.
In fact, sleep deprivation is one such casualty of today's so-called fast life
which has great negative physiological and behavioural consequences. Sleep
deprivation can put the body into a state of high alert, enhance the chances of
catching common cold or flu, increase the production of stress hormones and
push up blood pressure which may further lead to many health
complications.
It is also found that due to
inadequate sleep and rest, levels of the hormone responsible for stimulating
appetite increase, and the hormone that regulates fullness drops, which could
lead to weight gain. Various studies did report a correlation between adults
who do not get enough sleep and their tendency to gain weight and become obese.
Not only this, sleep disorder and/or poor habits that block this progression
create a situation of sleep debt. Feeling tired and listless follow from not
getting enough sleep or by experiencing poor sleep quality.
Changing the natural course of
life at will, doctors opine, affects not only our health but also the health of
our family since it has a multidimensional impact on our life. Routine and
disciplined life having a well-drawn balance among all necessary activities
including sleep has several advantages for the family as a whole.
John Steinbeck is very right
when he says, "It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night
is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it."
So, it is incorrect to think and even worse to practice that nightly sleep is a
luxury and not a necessity. It being the hard truth, it is also a must for
everybody to maintain good sleep hygiene – good routine, healthy eating habit,
suitable sleeping facility and environment, sleeping schedule, no or lesser use
of electronic gadgets at least 30 minutes before going to bed etc. for ensuring
sound sleep every night to reap innumerable benefits of this master
medicine. (hellomilansinha@gmail.com)
As always, I'm keen to know what you think on this subject. Hence, I request you to post your comments to share your valuable opinion.
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