‘Snoring sign of disease, needs to be treated well in time’

Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, March 15

Addressing a press conference on the occasion of World Sleep Day, Dr HJ Singh, chest and sleep disorders specialist and former president of Indian Association of Bronchology informed that 6-8 hour sound sleep was necessary for a healthy person and individuals.

“ It is suspected that around 30-35 million people are suffering from obstructive sleep apnea which is a major cause of sleep disorders. There are 84 known sleep disorders most of which occurs during a fast sleep and majority of population doesn’t know about it,” he added.

According to Dr Singh, snoring is a sign of disease and if it is not treated well in time it can lead to dire consequences like road accidents, heart attack, heart failure, stroke, infertility and other diseases affecting the body organs.

Just one night of poor quality sleep, negatively impact attention span, memory recall and learning ability. Sleep loss impacts hormones involved in appetite regulation.

Dr Singh said: “ In detail that obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep-related breathing disorder in which there is repeated obstructions to upper airway while the person is sleeping means “without breath” often for 10 seconds or more and sometimes even a minute or longer.”

“These episodes of breathing interruptions are dangerous and lead to a drop in the oxygen saturation in the blood. Sleep disorders being the number one cause of divorce in Europe is India’s problem also, added Dr Singh.

He said: “In Punjab more young persons are affected by the sleep apnea because eating habits, alcohol intake and it affects mainly in middle age group.

He said: “Statics reveal that OSA in India males varied from 4.4 per cent to 19.7 per cent while among the females it ranged 2.5-7.7 per cent.”

Dr Singh expressed serious concern about road accidents to the tune of 30-40 per cent took place because of sleep apnea. He cautioned that a person who snore heavily and feel sleepy during day time should undergo sleep study test and get himself treated.

He said: “The most accurate diagnostic tool, polysomnography can establish the diagnose and assist us in identifying the type of sleep disorder.”