Insomnia rate on the rise due to longer commute, work stress

From changing commute hours to increased work stress, solitary living and psychological issues, insomnia cases in the city have increased over the last five years. On World Sleep Day, local insomniacs and doctors share their observations on the prevalence of the disorder in the city.

For one city-based assistant producer, sleep troubles began when she moved abroad in September 2017 to study. “This persisted for about six months. I would not sleep for days, until I collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. Even then, I would get only one to two hours of sleep. I think it was due to a major lifestyle change. It was the first time I was living away from home, in an unknown space and environment,” said the 22-year-old.

Insomnia is a sleep related disorder where an individual has trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep. Acute insomnia occurs from less than three weeks, while chronic insomnia occurs when sleep cycles are disrupted for more than six weeks.

A 2017-study published in the International Journal of Contemporary Medical Research showed that 45.13 per cent of participants suffered from insomnia. Other studies report anywhere between 20 per cent to 40 per cent of the study population suffering from the disease. A 2011 study suggests that 18.6 per cent of south Indians have insomnia.

These numbers are backed by Dr N Ramakrishnan, senior consultant and director, Nithra Institute of Sleep Sciences, Anna Nagar. Over the course of his practice, Dr Ramakrishnan has noted an increase in the number of insomnia cases in the city, particularly in three age groups – newly-working professionals between the ages of 20 and 30, senior citizens over the age of 65 and school students.

“There is most definitely an increase in the number of cases in the first category. Youngsters are not getting enough sleep due to commute times. Some people travel for 1.5 hours one-way daily. They return home at 8 pm, following which they have no down time before bed. This down time is essential to get a good sleep,” he said.

Increased work stress, especially the fact that many are expected to be on call and available at all hours, also contribute to this rise, said Dr Ramakrishnan. The solitary life of senior citizens, and increased pressure to perform on students have contributed to the rise of insomnia cases in the city, he added. The assistant producer quoted earlier explained that following her sleeplessness, she was unable to perform academically and exhibited signs of irritability and dullness. “I lost interest and enthusiasm for a lot of things. I also began procrastinating a lot and not doing my work, because I thought I would be able to do it at night anyway,” she said.

With more awareness and concern over non-communicable diseases (NCD), Dr Ramakrishnan said that insomnia is another NCD that can cause issues like diabetes, hypertension and heart issues. Additionally, an individual can also suffer from depression, anxiety, irritability and drop in productivity. Social reclusiveness is also common among insomniacs. In another case, a city-based homemaker suffered damage to her pineal gland following a stroke in 2000. The gland produces melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Her melatonin secretion stopped, the 53-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, has been suffering from insomnia for the last 20 years.

After being prescribed an anti-anxiety medication to facilitate sleep, the homemaker now gets around 2 to 6 hours of sleep depending on the dosage. However, the homemaker does not recommend the use of drugs to induce sleep. “My condition came forth due to my stroke as well as the psychological strain of family issues in my life. Medication, although helpful, can cause addiction and insomnia is more of an issue of the mind than the body. Therefore, it is essential that people first visit a therapist or psychologist to treat the issue through alternate means like meditation. However, Chennai lacks good-quality facilities and most doctors recommend medication right away,” she said. A 2011 study stated that only 0.3 per cent of south Indians seeks medical or professional help when dealing with sleep-related disorders. According to Dr Ramakrishnan, this is due to many opting to go for over-the-counter drugs, which can cause adverse side-effects, and is not a long-term solution to the problem. “There is a lack of awareness on sleep-related disorders. It is a lifestyle disease, that is just as important as other issues like diabetes and hypertension. Many ignore it because they feel that getting good sleep is unimportant. Now, multiply that by several weeks,” he said.