Digital health technologies are the vehicles of change and awareness for ensuring a good night’s sleep, says Dr Sibasish Dey
The ongoing pandemic has spurred the adoption of digital health technologies across the country. People far and wide have resorted to online consultations and remote monitoring tools to treat diseases. The government of India also launched the National Digital Health Mission to advance the healthcare ecosystem and fuel the adoption of telemedicine and telemonitoring.
Digital healthcare tools and techniques enable remote monitoring of patients, bridging the accessibility gap between the doctor and the patient. They also help reduce the impact of the dismal doctor-patient ratio in India, which currently stands at 1:1445 (one doctor for every 1445 patients). The ideal ratio, as prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), is 1:1000. Overall, digital healthcare and the data collected helps the medical community to predict health problems, develop effective solutions and advance medical research. Digital healthcare has also given sleep awareness an exponential boost. More people willingly are undertaking sleep tests and subsequent therapies today.
But why should sleep be monitored?
Sleep is one of the most important biological processes that help the body to function properly. It allows the body enough time to rest and aids in healing and repairing blood vessels, muscles, and even the heart. When we sleep, memory consolidation happens. Our thoughts and experiences are organised and stored in our memory for quick recall at a later stage. Productivity during the day is better, while reaction to various challenges is faster and more effective. Even though sleep has multiple benefits, a good night’s sleep is not common amongst most people, given today’s erratic lifestyle and working hours.
Though our work schedules and lifestyle highly impact our sleeping patterns, negligence is the biggest cause of unhealthy sleep cycles. We respect the importance of food and exercise in our lives but do not give sleep the attention it deserves. Ironically, sleep tends to be way more critical. Another vital aspect to consider here is the quality of sleep. We may sleep for over seven hours each day; still, if it is interrupted, the purpose is lost. This leads to sleeping issues such as insomnia and sleep apnea. Sleeping disorders like sleep apnea have detrimental effects on our bodies, making their diagnosis and treatment even more critical. In a country with over 1.3 billion people, sleep awareness remains an unspoken subject to date. India is the second most sleep-deprived country globally, with an average of seven hours, one minute of sleep and is only ahead of Japan.
Innovation in digital technologies for sleep
As evident from the data above, India is a sleep-deprived country. Apart from the unimportance given to it, the primary reason is the awareness gap and unavailability of suitable infrastructure to support sleep testing. Polysomnography, the study of sleep, requires a sleep laboratory. It is expensive and a tedious process, so people do not willingly undertake it. The introduction of digital solutions for sleep disorder testing and treatment has given manageable and easy to apply devices that are now available in the comfort of our homes. They are user friendly, cost-effective, and enable remote monitoring of the patient. For example, continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy has proven to be an effective connected treatment option for sleep-disordered breathing, commonly known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), at home. Administered with the help of a modest size device, it pushes air into the patient’s breathing system with a calibrated pressure that opens the obstructed airway.
Similarly, testing of sleep disorders has transitioned from sleep labs to our bedrooms with simple wearable devices. The easy access and increasing awareness about overall well-being have also encouraged people to undertake sleep tests even on experiencing mild symptoms of sleep disorders. India’s medical fraternity has also begun considering sleep disorders as a possible cause of multiple chronic ailments such as hypertension and cardiovascular issues and have started recommending sleep testing and therapy to their patients.
The road ahead
Even though digital healthcare solutions have pushed sleep awareness, the need of the hour is also a nationwide awareness campaign about the various types of sleep disorders and the consequences. An erratic lifestyle and long working hours resulting from the pandemic have put our health at significant risk, making it essential to monitor our sleep hygiene.
A healthy sleep cycle impacts our overall well-being in numerous ways. Apart from keeping our productivity in check, it also improves our cardiovascular system, blood pressure, mental health, keeps obesity in check, and multiple other things. The key takeaway here is that we must practice a healthy sleep routine. If anyone experiences morning headaches, daytime fatigue, and other associated symptoms, they should consult a sleep-specialist. A night of sound sleep leads to a healthy mind and a healthy body.
(The author is the head of medical affairs at ResMed, a medical equipment company, in India and South Asia.)