We all love to sleep and know how important it is. Despite that, the sleep patterns both in urban and rural areas are alarming. A survey titled - In Search of Better Sleep 2020 by Centuary Mattresses and Wavemaker did across various cities including Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam and nine other cities tries to understand attitudes, perceptions, and behaviours around sleep and other issues.
The survey found that it is not only the duration but the quality of the sleep and various factors leading to distractions have been a major concern growing year on year.Overall, in the 10 cities, the survey found that collectively average hours of sleep have come down in most of the cities.
In 2018 people slept 7.66 hours on weekend and 7.48 hours on weekdays which has come down to 6.85 hour on weekends and 6.76 hour on weekdays. Majority of the people are not able to sleep for eight hours as per health experts.
Looking at the gender-wise sleep duration, the findings are more worrying with the younger women (25-35 years) sleeping for 6.60 hours on weekends and 6.97 hours on weekdays in 2019 which was 7.70 hours and 7.43 hours respectively in the year 2018. Compared to them, the younger male slept for 6.73 hours on weekdays and 6.58 Hours on weekends in 2019 instead of 7.66 Hours on weekdays and 7.50 Hours on weekdays in 2018.
Hyderabad’s sleeping trends
Hyderabad has seen sleeplessness increase to 21 per cent in 2019 from just 1 per cent in 2018.
The average hours of sleep of the city has also dropped significantly to 5.08 hours on weekdays and 6.88 hours on weekends as compared to 7.88 hours and 8.13 hours respectively a year ago.
After raising from the bed in the morning, at least 41 per cent of Hyderabadis feel that they are restless throughout the day
About 26 per cent of Hyderabadis said that their sleeping time is being reduced due to continuously working on laptops and smartphones even after going to bed
51 per cent of Hyderabadis witnessed that they were suffering with back pain due to their irregular sleeping hours and also the un-scientifically designed surface of the mattress.
61 per cent of Hyderabadis feel sleepy in about 1-3 days out of a week.
What to eat to sleep well
Mozzarella cheese, a source of tryptophan, plays a vital role in the production of serotonin and sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. Carbs make tryptophan more available to the brain, so your late-night cheese toast may be beneficial for sleep.
Oats can also help improve the quality of sleep due to vitamins and minerals that support relaxation. These are a natural source of melatonin and regulates our sleep cycles.
Wild Salmon is a source of nutrients that encourage sleep-regulating hormone serotonin. It has omega 3, magnesium, Vitamin B6 and tryptophan, all of which encourage serotonin.
Milk has melatonin and tryptophan. This is because cows are milked at night, when their melatonin is higher.
Soy products are a good source of tryptophan. Tofu is also rich in protein and can contain calcium, both of which are sleep-promoting compounds.
- Zeenath Fatima, Chief Dietitian, Continental Hospitals
Why kids are not sleeping at 10
Godrej Interio’s Sleep@10, a health awareness initiative, data reveals that Indian kids are sleep deprived.
The study reveals the following about children below the age of 18 in India
36 per cent respondents sleep less than 6 hrs
43 per cent respondents sleep after 12am
20 per cent respondents sleep at 10 pm
58 per cent respondents never or very rarely sleep at 10
41 per cent watch tv or use smartphone before sleeping
67 per cent feel drowsy and tired after they wake up