Sleep disorder becoming a ‘global epidemic’

…as experts call for more hours of rest to achieve optimal capacity

It started in his second year at one of the Eastern universities in the country. To his colleagues, he was regarded as one of the brightest student academically in his set. Many of his course mates looked up to him for guidance in his department. Gideon Amenahum loved his books more than any other thing. However, his reading pattern was a bit different from that of his colleagues. 

 

During the daytime, it was a different ball game entirely as he buried himself in his academics. Every spare time he had during the day, one could easily find Gideon in one of the classes/at the lab reading. What amazed him was that he got tired easily, and was usually irritable and impatient with his friends and colleagues.

Even as he eventually graduated to become one of the best in his class, it was years after that he was informed by a physician that he may have been assailed by a bout of narcolepsy, a form of sleep disorder.

A walk or drive through major cities such as Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Abuja, etc, leaves one with the indelible impression of several forms of sleeping disorder which seem to be affecting most Nigerians today. In public places, it is a common sight to see people taking time for a snooze right in full glare of others. It has become so bad that even under our bridges many have set up their abode. Even in public buses, conductors at times have to shout extra loud to awaken sleeping commuters so that they are not taken past their destinations.

Numerous offices are not spared, as many a time people abandon their official duties in exchange for a few minutes of sleep. The trend is especially prominent in public owned companies or government establishments, where civil servants now give ample time to dozing at their desks, rather than attending to issues of the bureaucracy.

Even as sleep is a basic human need of a critical component of survival, Nigerians have been called upon to take more hours of quality sleep, giving its therapeutic benefits. This is in view of poor quality of sleep in a society where sleep is often compromised by the habits of modern life.

Speaking at the World Sleep Day Lecture organised by Mouka Limited in Lagos recently, Njideka Okubadejo, a consultant neurologist and Associate Professor at College of Medicine, University of Lagos said that sleeplessness is becoming a public health issue giving its adverse effect on the health and quality of life of people as sleep problems constitutes a global epidemic, affecting up to 45 percent of the world's population.

While acknowledging that insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and sleep deprivation significantly impact physical, mental and emotional health, in addition to affecting work performance and personal relationships, the medical neurologist stated that unlike in adults, children with sleep disorders may manifest with behavioral problems that may be mistaken for attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

According to her “Deprivation of sleep have both neuro-behavioural and physiological effects on the public. Attention lapse, increased daytime propensity to fall asleep and increased weight gain and stress hormones are some of the negative effect of lack of quality sleep.

“Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA), a condition in which breathing pauses or stops during sleep, occurs when a person's breathing pauses and one moves from deep to light sleep hour. The symptoms of OSA include gasping or choking during sleep; excessive daytime sleepiness and morning headaches; memory or learning problems, lack of concentration;  irritability, mood swings, and depression. Chronic OSA may lead to serious health problems, including heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and loss of oxygen to the brain,” Okubadejo concluded.

Lending her view, the Managing Director, Mouka Limited, Peju Adebajo stated that even though the benefits of sleep impact nearly every area of daily life, most people don’t realize how much sleep they need and why it is so important.

“Sleep has proved to assist in many psychological functions of the body. For example, many individuals have found that when they get enough rest, they are able to think more clearly, and stay focused. Confidence levels are increased and there is less likelihood for stress to pose a heavy burden on one who sleeps regularly and without disruption.

“It has also been discovered that the health of one’s heart is optimized when we get enough rest. When an individual does not get the right amount of sleep, it is quite possible for damage to arise to the blood vessels. In addition to that, higher levels of blood pressure may be experienced. All of these complications can be avoided, or at least minimized, by simply ensuring that we get the right amount of sleep on a daily basis,” Adebayo stated.

Following recent research which shows that a sizeable number of road traffic accidents were caused by sleepy drivers, there is the need for Nigerians to find out their body cycles as this will rejuvenate their mental ability.

For the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM), to help improve children's sleep and overall wellness, “Make sure your child gets enough sleep by setting an age-appropriate bedtime and wake-time; establish a consistent bedtime routine and recommend wearing comfortable clothes in bed; avoid bright light at bedtime and during the night and increase light exposure in the morning; Keep all electronics, including televisions, computers and mobile phones, out of the bedroom and limit use of electronics before bedtime as well as eliminate foods and beverages containing caffeine.”