India facing sleep health crisis

India is facing a sleep health crisis, that is further soaring diseases affecting the heart and brain, said health experts.

Sleeping a minimum of seven hours every day is essential for good health, if not it can affect your body, both physically and mentally.

According to health experts, sleep deprivation is one of the highest in India among global countries.

This was seen in a survey by the social community platform LocalCircles on World Sleep Day, which showed that 61 per cent of Indians got less than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night in the last 12 months.

The percentage of sleep-deprived Indians has been increasing in the last two years: it was 50 per cent in 2022 and 55 per cent in 2023.

Sleep deprivation can affect heart health by increasing blood pressure and heart rate. Sleep-deprived individuals are also more likely to develop diabetes, and high cholesterol and indulge in faulty dietary habits. So adequate and sound sleep of at least 7 hours is essential to keep our heart healthy, experts said. Sleep quality, affected by poor sleep hygiene and overuse of digital devices, is also causing significant health effects, both physical and mental. We cannot ignore sleep, which occupies a third of an average person’s lifespan, they said.