Sleep is of utmost importance for the wellbeing of any individual. And doctors feel the world is going to an era of sleep disorder epidemic. Statistics say that around 1/3rd of the people in America are sleep deprived and one in five car crashes everyday happens due to sleep deprivation.

Sleep fulfills many important biological functions in our body. Sleep carries a weight of around 2 to 3 kg in our body and it utilizes 20 to 30% energy of our body. Sleep is also very important to remember things and for memory consolidation. It also helps to maintain focus, attention and alertness, which further helps to integrate daily learning. So, it is very important for kids to have a sound sleep, which will help them focus better the next day.

On World Sleep Day, March 18, Dr Arnab Bera, pulmonologist at Medica Superspecialty Hospital, Kolkata emphasises the importance of a good night sleep.

The pulmonologist said, “Since brain is a high-energy consuming organ, it needs to replant its energy sources because during this energy consumption there are a lot of metabolites which come to our brain which transit involuntary wakefulness to sleep.”

Dr Bera said it’s very important to understand that during sleep the repairing of brain cells happens as it also removes the toxins from the body. These toxins are very harmful for our brain cells. Persons who do not get adequate sleep have a tendency of getting Alzheimer’s and degenerative brain diseases. Sleep is also very important for our heart function too. During sleep the heart can maintain its activity at a low pressure and rate. It also helps in replenishing its energy.

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“If your sleep is fragmented, if you have a sleep disorder like obstructive sleep apnea, that will increase your body blood pressure and the other cardiovascular problems. Our immune system is also affected during our sleep. It helps in the resistance of infection. You will be astonished to know people who take flu shots before winter must have adequate sleep, but if the person does not get sufficient sleep before these flu shots, they will have a half antibody response. And this is a proven fact,” said Dr Bera.

The epidemic of sleep disorder runs parallel with the epidemic of obesity and diabetes. Mental function of a human also depends on sleep. A sleep deprived individual has more incidents of having depression anxiety, even suicidal tendency, according to the doctors.

“In an untreated obstructive sleep apnea person the cardiovascular rate increases by almost 420%. Nowadays, the mobile phones we use contain blue light which is very harmful. Also, if we drink coffee while looking at the blue light, it results in very poor quality of sleep. A normal person will require 7-8 hours of good quality of sleep at night,” said the doctor.

Every person looks attractive after getting a quality sleep and it is published in a journal by the American Medical Association, where they took portraits of persons having good sleep and persons without. It revealed that one looks prettier when they have a good sleep.