How many hours usually do a person (child, youths,
middle-age, old and the very old) sleep in Bangladesh? Knowing this is
important because too little or too much sleep has implications for health…many
of the physiological and psychological processes are intimately related to ‘optimum’
hours of sleep! Studies have shown that, on an average, seven to eight hours of
sleep is sufficient for adult, with a little less for the elderly people.
However, it varies, by a complex interaction between genetics, environment, social
determinants of health and comorbidities.
Sleep
related problems remain an unrecognized public health issue affecting mortality
and morbidity of the population especially in the LMICs. Too little sleep
interferes with immune mechanisms of the body and make one susceptible to
illness while too much sleep has been found to be associated with the risk of
obesity, hypertension, diabetes, CVDs and mental health disorders. The effect
of too much sleep has been found to be stronger than too little sleep!
Interesting findings came out of the study. For
example, the study found that more than half of school-age children (55%) slept
less than recommended while 28% of the elderly slept more. Rural populations
had a four times greater chance of sleeping less than the urban people. Total
sleep time was found to have an ‘U’ shaped curve with age i.e., more sleep hours
at the extremes of age. There was a significant reduction in sleeping time (66%
less likely) when an individual get married. Individuals in large cities are
likely to sleep more than those living in the small cities. Interestingly, most
people involved in occupations other than agriculture slept more, as do the unemployed
and the home-makers compared to their counterparts (both 2.5 times more). The study found that the greater the level of
education, the lesser the amount of sleep hours. There was no significant
difference between men and women in mean sleeping hours.
Overall, the findings show that majority of the population
(in different age groups) in Bangladesh tend to sleep late with consequences
for acute and chronic illnesses and well-being. It’s high time that proper
attention is given to this aspect and remedial measures taken, especially in case
of children!
For more: Yunus FM et al. (2016). How many hours
do people sleep in Bangladesh? A country-representative study. Journal of Sleep
Research. DOI: 10.1111/jsr.12381.
2 comments:
www.rongginn.com First Bangladesh Online Tabloid. The portal shows lifestyle, entertainment, sports, politics, breaking news, gossip and tips.
Tracking Sleep Quality is essential nowadays. Among all the Gadgets I saw, this Biostrap also known as Personal Health Monitor is quite fascinating. It helps you keep a track record of all your activities and also it analyzes your sleep quality.
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