Preventing Sleep Disorders

The mushrooming "Call Centres" and "Business Processing Offices" in the Asian countries that work in the nights or round the clock to service their clients from America and European countries is already wrecking havoc on the health of some of the younger population. This industry is booming and is called a "sunshine" sector - although ironically most of the work is carried out in the darkness of night. Someone has described them appropriately as our "midnight coolies".

Thanks to the differing time zones a customer calls at 4PM local time which is 4 AM in India and this disrupts the internal clock of the employee. An E-SAT SURVEY 2005 showed that sleeping disorders were present in over 34% of respondents from this industry. The abnormal timings were found to have a two-fold effect on call center employees - freshers are required to adapt themselves to a different biological clock and existing employees often suffer from insomnia, concluded the survey.

The other two equally important factors of our modern living is the increase in the incidence of obesity and increased levels of stress. Achieving an ideal body weight besides promoting good health will prevent sleep apneas. Relaxation techniques, like exercise, can help combat stress and promote good sleep. Truly, "It is not stress that makes us sleepless but, rather ,our reaction to it".