With the increasing levels of stress at schools, colleges or for that matter at jobs, many youngsters tend to sleep only a couple of hours. And many also take those important hours of slumber for granted. Taking precedence of the need for sleep during Sleep Awareness Week and on International Sleep Day today, we clock a youngster’s hours of shut-eye, which shockingly is very less, and can affect their health in the long term. Experts also reveal how much sleep a human body needs to stay healthy.

Dr Toshit Pramod Sapkal, a sleep expert and pulmonologist at People Tree Hospital says, “It has been proven through multiple research, that a human body needs atleast six to nine hours of sleep daily. When that need is not met, the body often tends to not perform well, and is less efficient than when you get proper sleep. Your productivity at work decreases. It has also been proven that people who get less than six hours of sleep, have a higher chance of mortality than the ones who sleep for more than six hours.”





But, does sleeping less really affect our efficiency, we find out from Titus Michael, a student at a business school, “I only sleep for four to five hours a day, but it’s no good. My coursework is hectic, and if I have to complete all the work in a day, it leaves me with only four or five hours of sleep. I roam around like a zombie! It kind of gets you to do things, but the efficiency is far lesser! I’ve heard of actual people (rare cases), who biologically need only four to five hours of sleep, which is interesting.”

Another doctor, Dr Vikrant Shah, internal medicine expert at Zen Multispecialty Hospital elaborates, “The average sleep for a human body should be seven to nine hours a day. When we say sleep disturbances, we refer to sleep cycle variations, sound sleep disturbances, increase dreams etc. Adverse effects of less sleep on the human body would be categorised as acute and chronic.”

Acute effects: Mood changes, irritability, loss of balance, increased reaction time, severe yawning, hallucinations, tremors, decreased accuracy, cramps, etc.
Chronic effects: Risk of heart rate abnormalities and heart diseases, risk of diabetes, depression, weight gain, risk of ADHD and impaired immune system.
Dr Toshit also explains certain sleep hygiene routines that the doctor swears by, and this is especially for people who struggle falling asleep, things one needs to follow in order to sleep better.

Catch that Shuteye

Hit the bed only when you are sleeping, that means no lying around in bed before sleep time, which usually causes you to twist and turn, and not fall asleep.

TV in a bedroom should be avoided in all circumstances.

Make sure your bedroom is adequately lighted, which means dim lights are always better before sleeping.

Avoiding drinking before sleeping.

Getting up early and going to sleep at a regular time is the best routine to follow.