A survey of households across ten cities in India released ahead of World Sleep Day, indicates that 53% of respondents experience sleep-related issues when not following a consistent bedtime routine. It further notes that 86% of respondents start their bedtime routine 8 PM onwards every day, and 53% among those, start their routine after 10:30pm. Streaming video content (63%), connecting with family and friends (59%), listening to podcasts, music, or audiobooks (58%), and scrolling through social media apps (57%) have been found to be the activities engaged in before calling it a day.
THE WEEK spoke to Dr. Elanthiraiyan G.C, consultant- neurology, SRM GLOBAL hospitals, Chennai to help shed light on the importance of establishing a "healthy" bedtime routine. Excerpts...
What according to you is the ideal amount of sleep necessary for an individual?
The ideal amount of sleep necessary varies according to the age group. For example in school children who belong to the age group of 6 to 13 years, it is around 9 to 11 hours whereas in teenagers around 14 to 17 years. It is about 8 to 10 hours in adults that is people who are of more than 18 years old. It's about 7 to 9 hours in older adults, especially people who are more than 65 years old.
Sleep is necessary to maintain normal functions. But there is a lot of individual variations, and this depends upon the health condition and lifestyle.
According to you, what is the ideal bedtime routine?
The first step in maintaining an ideal bedtime routine is to set a consistent sleep schedule, meaning that you have to go to bed and wake up at predefined times whether it is on the weekdays or during the weekends.
The second step is limiting screen time. You have to limit screen time one or two hours before going to bed. You can thus reduce the blue light exposure which disrupts the melatonin production in the body. You can use dim lights or amber lights which sends a signal to the body to slow down. The fourth technique is you have to practice relaxation techniques including deep breathing, gentle stretching and meditation while you lie down on the bed. The other routine which you can practice is taking a warm bath or shower an hour before you go to bed, so this lowers your core temperature of the body and it promotes sleep.
Practice journaling, ie, writing down your thoughts or making a to-do list for the next day while you are lying down. Your bedroom should be ideally around 21 degrees Celsius. You can practice aromatherapy (the use of essential oils to manage health or boost well-being) or use calming scents like lavender and cedar wood which would create a nice ambience for you to fall asleep.
Please explain scientifically in what way the body responds to different sleep patterns.
The first thing which I would like to point out is there is a system called a circadian rhythm which is an internal clock present in everybody. This internal clock is regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus which aligns the body with the dark and light cycles of the environment.
For people who have irregular sleep schedules or who work in artificial lights, this alignment with the external cues happens. There is a misalignment to this rhythm. This affects the melatonin production.
Reduced melatonin production can affect sleep quality also. For people who have shift work or who experience chronic jet lag, there can be a delay or advance in the circadian rhythms. This can cause issues like fatigue and decreased cognitive performance.
Second issue is sleeping deprivation. Some people have a chronic lack of sleep. When people experience a chronic lack of sleep, there is a particular chemical substance called adenosine whose level goes up in the system.
This can lead to impaired memory, mood swings, and decreased alertness. Chronic lack of sleep also predisposes to cardiovascular disease. Chronic sleep loss also disrupts the brain's ability to clear toxins, and this affects learning and memory.
Nowadays a lot of importance is being paid to the glymphatic system which is basically the lymphatic system in the brain. One theory which has been proposed is this glymphatic system clears all the toxins from the brain, especially during sleep. If we have chronic sleep deprivation, the glymphatic system does not work well and there is accumulation of toxins in the brain.
Then there are irregular sleep patterns. In this, people sleep at different times during the night. If this happens, there is a weakening of the synchronization between the circadian rhythm, that is your internal clock and the external cues. So this can lead to fragmented sleep. There is a particular type of sleep called REM sleep or random eye movement sleep. This is very important for learning and memory. People with irregular sleep patterns tend to have reduced REM sleep, which ultimately reduces their learning and memory.
The third is the phenomenon of overcompensation. People who are awake for a long time (prolonged wakefulness) go to sleep, the body compensates for it with deeper and longer sleep during the recovery phase. And even if you compensate by sleeping for an extra hour or two the next day, this may not fully reverse the cognitive deficits, can happen because of chronic sleep deprivation.
What do dreams indicate?
Dreams might indicate different things. It could indicate your psychological insight. Maybe it can symbolize unresolved emotions and fears. Dreams also can be a part of the cognitive process, so it helps to process daily experiences, consolidate memories and reflect emotions. They have a biological role as well, some authorities claim that dreams are basically random neural activity, which happens during the rapid eye movement sleep without any inherent meaning.
Should dreams be interpreted?
Yes, it depends on from person to person. It's highly subjective so it depends on the personal context store same dream can mean different things to different people so it can be dream analysis can be used as a therapeutic aid. It can be used as an aid for self-awareness and emotional healing. However, there is a lot of scientific uncertainty regarding the interpretation of dreams. There is no definite evidence which links dreams to universal meaning.
