Sleep Disorders: Why You're Always Tired and What to Do About It
Sleep is not lost time. It is when the brain clears toxins, consolidates memory, balances hormones and repairs the body. Adults need 7–9 hours of good-quality sleep every night — yet surveys show more than half of urban Indians sleep less than six hours and wake up feeling tired. Chronic poor sleep is linked to obesity, diabetes, hypertension, depression, accidents and even early death. The good news: most sleep problems are treatable once they are identified.
What good sleep actually looks like
Healthy sleep is not just about hours — it is about quality and timing. You should fall asleep within 20 minutes of going to bed, sleep through the night with at most one brief awakening, and wake up feeling refreshed without needing multiple alarms. Throughout the night your brain cycles through light sleep, deep sleep and REM (dream) sleep — each plays a different role in physical recovery, immunity and memory.
Children and teenagers need more sleep (9–11 hours), adults need 7–9 hours, and older adults need 7–8 hours. Consistent timing matters as much as duration: going to bed and waking at roughly the same time every day, including weekends, trains the body's internal clock.
Insomnia: when you can't fall or stay asleep
Insomnia is difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early — at least three nights a week for more than three months. It is the most common sleep disorder and is usually triggered by stress, anxiety, depression, irregular schedules, caffeine, alcohol or chronic pain. Once it starts, worrying about not sleeping often becomes its own cause.
The first-line treatment for chronic insomnia is not a sleeping pill — it is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which works better than medication in the long run. Key principles: use the bed only for sleep, get out of bed if you cannot sleep within 20 minutes, get up at the same time every day regardless of how you slept, avoid daytime naps, and limit screen time and bright light in the hour before bed.
Sleeping pills can help short-term during a crisis, but they should never be the long-term solution. They lose effectiveness, cause dependence, impair memory and increase the risk of falls in older adults.
Obstructive sleep apnoea: the dangerous snore
Loud snoring is not a joke — it can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), in which the airway repeatedly collapses during sleep, causing brief pauses in breathing. Each pause drops oxygen levels and forces the heart to work harder. Untreated OSA dramatically raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, daytime sleepiness and road accidents.
Suspect OSA if you snore loudly, gasp or choke during sleep, wake unrefreshed despite enough hours, have morning headaches, fall asleep during the day or have been told you stop breathing in your sleep. Risk factors include obesity, a thick neck, large tonsils and male gender, but slim people can have it too.
Diagnosis is by a sleep study, which can often be done at home with a portable device. The most effective treatment is CPAP — a small bedside machine that delivers gentle air pressure through a mask to keep the airway open. Modern CPAPs are quiet, comfortable and life-changing for most patients. Weight loss, avoiding alcohol before bed and sleeping on the side also help.
Other common sleep disorders
Restless legs syndrome causes an uncomfortable urge to move the legs at night, often with creeping or crawling sensations relieved only by movement. It is often linked to iron deficiency and responds well to treatment. Narcolepsy causes overwhelming daytime sleepiness and sudden 'sleep attacks'. Shift workers and frequent flyers face circadian rhythm disorders that need careful light exposure, scheduled sleep and sometimes melatonin under medical guidance.
Children who snore loudly, breathe through the mouth, are restless sleepers or struggle in school may have undiagnosed sleep apnoea — often from enlarged adenoids and tonsils — and benefit greatly from evaluation.
Sleep hygiene: the daily basics
Most people can improve their sleep dramatically without any medication. Key habits: keep a regular schedule, get bright daylight exposure within an hour of waking (a 15-minute walk is ideal), avoid caffeine after 2 pm, finish heavy meals at least three hours before bed, limit alcohol (it disrupts sleep architecture even though it makes you drowsy), avoid screens in the hour before bed, keep the bedroom cool, dark and quiet, and reserve the bed for sleep and intimacy only.
A relaxing wind-down routine — warm shower, reading a book, gentle stretching, slow breathing — signals the brain that it is time to sleep. Consistency matters more than perfection.
When to see a doctor
See a sleep specialist if you snore loudly with daytime sleepiness, have insomnia lasting more than three months, fall asleep at the wheel, wake up gasping or have unusual behaviours during sleep. At Dr. R B Yadav Hospital we offer sleep studies, CPAP titration, ENT evaluation and behavioural therapy for sleep disorders. Reclaiming your sleep is one of the most powerful investments you can make in your health.