DEPRIVED OF GOOD SLEEP? WATCH OUT FOR LIFESTYLE DISEASES

T began subtly. Anil Kumar, a 42-year-old chartered accountant from Kochi, found himself waking up at 2 am most nights, unable to fall back asleep.

- UNNIKRISHNAN S @T'Puram

T began subtly. Anil Kumar, a 42-year-old chartered accountant from Kochi, found himself waking up at 2 am most nights, unable to fall back asleep. At first, he thought it was due to work stress. He tried herbal teas, switched off his gadgets early, and even started using over-the-counter sleep aids. But what began as an occasional annoyance turned into a nightly battle. He would wake up groggy, mentally foggy, and his productivity would plummet. His wife noticed that he snored loudly and, alarmingly, sometimes seemed to stop breathing during sleep. The final jolt came when Anil briefly nodded off behind the wheel and was jolted awake only when his car grazed the highway divider. It was this scare that finally pushed him to seek medical help.