Deprived of Good Sleep? Watch Out for Lifestyle Diseases

The gold-standard level-1 polysomnography is conducted overnight in a sleep lab under technician supervision. It records electrical brain activity, breathing, oxygen levels, body movements, and heart rhythm.

- UNNIKRISHNAN S @T'Puram

Patients are usually advised to avoid caffeine and alcohol and to refrain from napping the day of the study. Simpler versions, like level 2 and 3 studies, can be done at home and are primarily used to assess breathing disorders.

"Home-based studies are gaining popularity because people find it difficult to sleep in unfamiliar hospital environments. But their utility is limited to detecting only a subset of disorders," Dr Sapna notes.

For chronic insomnia, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is considered the gold standard. "CBT-I works better than medication in the long run," Dr Sapna notes. "It targets the root causes of poor sleep, such as unhelpful beliefs and behaviours. But in India, access to trained therapists is limited. This pushes patients towards long-term use of sleeping pills, which can lead to dependency and cognitive issues."