The basics of sleep
“I feel like an astronaut,” says Mr Joshua Lye, a home tutor.
Streaks of fine colourful wires, attached to his scalp and bunched up behind the 57-year-old, are plugged into a white box that looks like a Mastermind board game.
A staff member in a lab coat then skilfully attaches the ends of more electrodes on Mr Lye’s shins to monitor any leg movements.
Mr Lye, who is suspected to be suffering from obstructive sleep apnoea, is at the Sleep Disorders Unit at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) to undergo an overnight study of his sleeping patterns.
Sleep apnoea is a condition in which the airway collapses and gets blocked during sleep. It can lead to high blood pressure, obesity and even heart attacks if left untreated.
Mr Lye is among a growing number of people diagnosed with sleep disorders in Singapore.
Dr Toh Song Tar, director of the Sleep Disorders Unit and consultant at the department of otolaryngology in SGH, notes that there were more than 4,000 outpatient cases of sleep disorders in the hospital last year.
The number of patients diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnoea also shot up from 290 cases in 2011 to 440 cases last year.
Sleep disorders include sleep walking, sleep deprivation and insomnia. While there are no updated and available figures on the total number of people with sleep disorders in Singapore, Dr Toh says the worldwide trend is on an uptick.
Results from a survey released by the Nanyang Technological University last month showed that 37.5 % of six- to nine-year-olds show signs of sleep deprivation – a worrying sign, considering that several well-known disasters, such as the Chernobyl nuclear accident and space shuttle Challenger explosion, have been found to be linked to sleep deprivation and fatigue.
Despite this, many people remain unaware of the prevalence of sleep disorders, says Dr Toh. The consultant explains that ignorance is the main problem. “Many people are suffering from sleep disorders but are unwilling to seek help or do not know that help is available. They may think what they are experiencing is normal,” he says.
Category: Features, Wellness and Complementary Therapies
