Sleep Saves Life -- And Restores Wellbeing

By Sujendra Prakash

For several years I have taught both the graduate and post-graduate students a complete chapter on sleep. I always used to wonder as to why people do not come to us when they have problems. We study quite a lot about sleep but when people have problems, they go the other professionals.

I thought this happens probably because they do not know we study this topic in so much detail. This was when I started working on understanding sleep from a practical point of view. What should someone do to make life easy so that sleep comes naturally? This book is a result of such work.

I hope you shall benefit from the book and make your sleep pleasurable.
This book is not for people with sleep disorders.

However, doctors, nurses, students, drivers, B.P.O. professionals, call center executives, pilots, overnight travelers, people working in shifts, and scores of others who are unable to have a nice night's sleep can benefit from this information by learning to understand the essence of sleep.

This book helps you to know and understand the kind of 'sleep problem' you are facing at present. It serves as a frame of reference for you, daily, to gauge whether you have had sufficient sleep for some time.

The 20 tips outlined here have been collated from an extensive study. My objective in writing this book is not merely to provide information on sleep but to indicate strategies for making sleep pleasurable.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sujendra Prakash
• Release date: Dec 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201827229

Sujendra Prakash

Professor Sujendra Prakash holds a Ph.D. degree in Psychology from Bangalore University. During his extensive professional career, he has held senior academic positions in several colleges. He has taught graduate and post-graduate students in various subjects of psychology. Dr. Prakash is a professional member of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, Chennai; Indian Society for Training and Development, New Delhi; Associate life member of Karnataka Association of Clinical Psychologists; and was an affiliate of Consulting Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association during 1999-2001. He has published and presented several papers and he has been interviewed on burning issues in Times of India, Bangalore, and other newspapers. He has also been interviewed on several TV and radio channels. He was invited to be a celebrity on Indiatimes.com in 2002. He has counseled and helped thousands of people in developing memory, concentration, study skills, personality development, etc. He has several corporate and institutional clients.

Book preview

PREFACE

Please use this information with caution and do not come to conclusions until you consult a medical practitioner.

Sleep is a rejuvenating factor in everyone’s life.  We always aspire for a good night’s sleep.  We take sleep for granted and think it is natural but the effects of sleep deprivation can be disastrous.

Most experts feel that everyone needs at least six hours of sleep in a day and growing children need more.  Sleep is a powerful drive and its fulfillment gives us satisfaction, contentment, and happiness.

Over several years of research, I was able to develop a test to determine the extent to which there is a lack of sleep and to gauge its effects on physical and psychological wellbeing.

This test was called "Sleep Probe" and I had classified this into three sections – General Probe, Specific Probe, and Deep Probe.

The General Probe can differentiate between people who have Sleep Problems and those who can sleep well.

The Specific Probe highlights specific habits and behaviors that are detrimental to a good night’s sleep.

The Deep Probe delves into the finer aspects of disturbance in the sleep cycle.

People who work in shifts, do night duty, work odd hours and have jet lag have benefited from this test immensely.

Explanations were provided to the questions and these explanations were able to throw light on why we have sleep problems.  This knowledge helped them in correcting some of their problems related to sleep.

This test was also administered to 213 people working in shifts at a multinational manufacturing company.  Out of these, 113 people were trained (under four batches) in Sleep Management Program.

The latter group was measured before and after the program, too.  These results are also summarized in the ensuing paragraphs.

The 3-D Effects of Sleep Problems

The primary purpose of the Sleep Saves Life approach is to win over the 3-D effect of sleep problems – Deficiency, Distress, and Disease.

Figure 1: The 3D effect of Sleep Problems

DEFICIENCY IS PRESENT in the body through a lack of vitamins and minerals.  Such a state of affairs leads to ineffective immunity to diseases and thereby chances of falling ill are greater.

Experiments on animals have shown that Sleep deprivation causes serious illness and in some cases death, mainly through damage to the immune system.

Sleep is a physiological motive like hunger or thirst and loss of sleep causes anxiety and suffering.  The person is always under discomfort and is stressed both physically and mentally.

This results in inefficiency at work, failure on the job, and shortcomings in learning new ideas and skills.  Accidents too are quite frequent when sleep problems galore.

Persistent headaches, restlessness, lack of concentration, forgetting, losing temper frequently, tiredness, body pain, heart diseases, stroke, high blood pressure, etc. have also been associated with prolonged sleep deprivation.

In some people, excessive sleeping leads to lethargy and laziness.  These people tend to avoid work, develop health problems, have improper diet control, and always need rest.

Hence, it is essential to develop regular sleep habits to support the biological clock in the brain.  It is towards this