Sleeping disorders are common and nearly 10 per cent of the population suffers from any of the sleeping disorders - insomnia, restless legs syndrome (RlS) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) etc. These disorders often remain undiagnosed or misdiagnosed and untreated due to the lack of awareness among medical professionals and masses.
While addressing the mediapersons in a press conference held in Dehradun on Friday, Dr Ravi Gupta, Associate Professor, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, said that OSA was characterised by snoring, snorting, witnessed pauses in breath, chocking sensation, morning headache, excessive urination during night and sometimes daytime sleepiness or tiredness.
He further stressed that OSA increased the risk of having other health problems. “When patients describe the symptoms of restless legs syndrome, also known as Willis-Ekbon Syndrome, it can sound like something out of a psychothriller movie,” said Gupta, adding that, patients often described it as though small ants or worms were crawling all over a person’s limbs.
Dr Gupta told that sleep problems are common, are often misdiagnosed because of lack of trained specialists. Sleeping pills are not the answer for sleep problems. He also claimed that sleep clinic at Himalayan Hospital is providing clinical services to the patients for past three years and patients also recuperated.