World sleep day: Sleeping well at night crucial to quality of life

Sleep is one of the major factors contributing to health but the quality of night sleep is declining all over the world. New research has found that the quality of sleep has a positive impact on the quality of life and it leads to better life satisfaction.

Scientists have focused on the quality of sleep rather than its duration, said a paper published in the journal Plos One. Findings suggest that how well you slept is more important than how long you slept or the social jetlag - when biological sleep rhythms and socially directed sleep rhythms do not align.

Statistics show that 59% of Indians sleep after 11 pm. A nationwide study by LocalCircles has found that 55% of Indians are not getting enough sleep. They sleep less than six hours a day. 21% of them sleep for only four hours and only 2% sleep 8-10 hours. Findings noted that when the data of 2021 and 2022 were compared, the percentage of citizens who are getting less than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep has risen in the last 12 months from 50% in 2022 to 55%.

Most people blame social media and technology for losing sleep.

According to researchers, 61% of people have to wake up at night to use the washroom which interferes with their sleep. Going to bed late or waking up early due to schedule and household activity is the reason for 27%. While external factors like mosquitoes keep up 24%, medical conditions like sleep apnea affect 20%. Children or partner interrupting causes 12% of people to lose sleep and technology affects 14%.

Covid-19 also has affected people's ability to sleep. While 59% said their sleep pattern hasn't changed after Covid infection, 28% said their sleep pattern deteriorated.