When you surf the web into the wee hours of the night or
constantly burn the midnight oil to rush your work, you could be
putting yourself at a greater risk of developing medical conditions
such as heart disease or diabetes.
This is because prolonged sleep deprivation, which
means less than four or five hours of sleep each night for years,
puts the body in a stressful condition, explained Dr Lim Li Ling,
Medical Director of the Singapore Neurology & Sleep and
president of the Singapore Sleep Society.
Noting Singapore's fast-paced environment, Dr Lim said, "The
biggest problem in sleep in Singapore is one of voluntary sleep
deprivation."
"Most people like to sleep but they don't feel it's as important
as working on a project or being on the Internet," she said. "My
sense is that over all, awareness (on the importance of good sleep)
is not very high."
The Singapore Sleep Society surveyed nearly 400 junior college
students and found that 97 per cent feel drowsy during class and
three in 10 drink caffeinated beverages to stay awake during the
day.
The recently published Philips Index for
Health and Well-being report, a research
conducted across 23 countries including Singapore, found that 35
per cent of people feel they are not getting enough sleep,
impacting their physical and mental health.
For World Sleep Day on Friday, the Singapore Sleep Society and
Philips, in partnership with the World Association of Sleep
Medicine, are separately running campaigns to encourage people to
sleep more and raise awareness on sleep disorders.
Common sleep disorders in Singapore are insomnia and obstructive
sleep apnea (OSA), where a person stops breathing multiple times
while asleep because the upper airways are blocked and it is hard
for air to enter the lungs.
Doctors estimate 10 to 30 per cent of the population here have
insomnia, while up to 25 per cent of the population here have OSA.
Global studies show 4 per cent of middle aged men and 2 per cent of
women have OSA.
The figures vary as there are no recent local studies on sleep
disorders because of funding and manpower issues, doctors said.
But while the numbers differ, doctors do agree that more people
could be suffering from OSA as obesity rates rise. Weight has a
direct effect on OSA as the additional fat around the neck could
make the airway narrower and obstruct breathing.
Signs of OSA include snoring, waking up in the middle of the
night breathless and feeling tired in the day.
Dr Lee Yeow Hian, a consultant in respiratory medicine in Tan
Tock Seng Hospital said the "vast majority" of people with OSA go
undiagnosed as they are either not aware of the condition, or they
are not aware of their symptoms are they are asleep.
Yet in the long term, people with OSA are at a higher risk of
getting cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stroke, heart
attack and diabetes.
Said Dr Ong Thun How, the director of the Singapore General
Hospital's sleep disorders unit, people with OSA have a 47 per cent
more chance of getting and dying from a heart attack.
She said, OSA can be treated via surgery for some or through the
use of a mask that blows air into the throat and lungs to prevent
the airway from being blocked.
Patients suffering from insomnia should also be screened for
underlying causes such as medical disorders or psychiatric
conditions such as depression and anxiety, she said.
-- Yahoo!
Well, for many JC students, they don't really have too much of a
choice. If you don't do well for your "A"-lvl, it is no different
from having a "O"-lvl cert.
And not everyone is a genius who can memorise and learn things
at a snap of a finger, some people like me learn and understand by
reading again and again, working on the questions again and again,
until a lightbulb flashes above my head.
