While elders constantly tell youngsters that the latter should work without caring for much rest, experts suggest this may actually be an unhealthy advice. Doctors who had gathered in the city for an international conference on sleep disorders underlined the importance of adequate sleep even for teenagers and adolescents.
"Along with the pressure of studies, activities like partying late into the night, watching television or chatting for long hours cuts into sleep. The hormonal activity in this age further complicates the problem. As a result, the children these days have a delayed sleep pattern. They sleep very late and so even wake up late," said Dr. Garima Shukla, neurologist from All India Insititute Of Medical Sciences ( AIIMS), New Delhi.
She said that these changes along with some habits like drinking and smoking or eating wrong foods among youngsters lead to problems like childhood obesity. "This may also cause severe problems like sleep apnea or disturbed sleep to set in at a much earlier age," she said.
Advising them to sleep for 8 to 9 hours daily, central India's only certified sleep physician Dr Sushant Meshram said there was too much on the plate of today's youngsters. "The problem is that they try to incorporate everything by cutting back on sleeping time. This makes them drowsy while performing the various tasks through the day. Still they continue as they can't afford to miss out on anything. No wonder that 12% students are known to sleep during classes," he said.
Dr Meshram also said that later in life, inadequate sleep may lead to complications like heart problems, diabetes, mood swings and even suicidal tendency. It also causes faster aging, bringing in diseases related to old age much earlier.
Dr. Manvir Bhatia, chairperson of department of sleep medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, was of the view that the modern and competitive lifestyle made the young adults voluntarily push their sleeping time into late morning hours. "They end up sleeping for half the required time or sleep in intervals without realising that both quality and quantity of sleep are important," she said. She also revealed that a lot of youngsters came to her on their own after realizing they needed medical help.
"A person who has been deprived of sleep for more than six months at a stretch may experience a permanent loss of memory and thinking ability. To avoid this, one should take a week off every six to twelve weeks to compensate for all the lost sleep," suggested Dr Sailesh Pangaonkar, director of Central India Institute of Behavioural Sciences.
National president of Indian Sleep Disorders Association Dr J C Suri also stressed the point that sleeping time could not replace study time. "What would be the use of studying all day long without proper rest if you do not give your brain the time to consolidate its memory, a process that takes place during sleep," he asked.
"Along with the pressure of studies, activities like partying late into the night, watching television or chatting for long hours cuts into sleep. The hormonal activity in this age further complicates the problem. As a result, the children these days have a delayed sleep pattern. They sleep very late and so even wake up late," said Dr. Garima Shukla, neurologist from All India Insititute Of Medical Sciences ( AIIMS), New Delhi.
She said that these changes along with some habits like drinking and smoking or eating wrong foods among youngsters lead to problems like childhood obesity. "This may also cause severe problems like sleep apnea or disturbed sleep to set in at a much earlier age," she said.
Advising them to sleep for 8 to 9 hours daily, central India's only certified sleep physician Dr Sushant Meshram said there was too much on the plate of today's youngsters. "The problem is that they try to incorporate everything by cutting back on sleeping time. This makes them drowsy while performing the various tasks through the day. Still they continue as they can't afford to miss out on anything. No wonder that 12% students are known to sleep during classes," he said.
Dr Meshram also said that later in life, inadequate sleep may lead to complications like heart problems, diabetes, mood swings and even suicidal tendency. It also causes faster aging, bringing in diseases related to old age much earlier.
Dr. Manvir Bhatia, chairperson of department of sleep medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, was of the view that the modern and competitive lifestyle made the young adults voluntarily push their sleeping time into late morning hours. "They end up sleeping for half the required time or sleep in intervals without realising that both quality and quantity of sleep are important," she said. She also revealed that a lot of youngsters came to her on their own after realizing they needed medical help.
"A person who has been deprived of sleep for more than six months at a stretch may experience a permanent loss of memory and thinking ability. To avoid this, one should take a week off every six to twelve weeks to compensate for all the lost sleep," suggested Dr Sailesh Pangaonkar, director of Central India Institute of Behavioural Sciences.
National president of Indian Sleep Disorders Association Dr J C Suri also stressed the point that sleeping time could not replace study time. "What would be the use of studying all day long without proper rest if you do not give your brain the time to consolidate its memory, a process that takes place during sleep," he asked.
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