Skeletal structure of Indians causes sleep problems

Sleep disorders in the Indian population is less due to obesity and more due to the skeletal structures of the body, explained sleep surgeons in a three-day session held in Hyderabad which ended on Sunday.

Data from the South-East Asian continent and the Indian sub-continent was analyzed where they found that unlike the West where obesity was one of the major contributing factors for sleep apnea it was not so in these countries.

The analysis showed that people who were thin, small but hale and hearty were found to suffer from sleep disorders like snoring, frequently getting up at night, waking up and gasping for breath despite of having a normal Body Mass Index of less than 30.

The problem identified in the Indian sub-continent was that people have small chin, nose, small cheekbones but have a big tongue, big tonsils and due to this skeletal mismatch the upper airways get blocked.

Dr Srinivas Kishore, senior sleep specialist explained, “The problem in India is that the upper airways are blocked due to the shape of the skeleton. The space for the air to go in at night is restricted because the passage way is small. During the day time, one is breathing through nose and also through mouth. In the night when the breathing is difficult the body tends to choke due to that reason there is frequent getting up at night.”

As there is a blockage, the heart and brain both are badly affected. The heart has to overwork to pump blood out but it does not get sufficient oxygen to do the job. The brain is alert as whenever it realizes that there is not sufficient intake of oxygen it wakes up the body to take in and then resume sleep.

But this breaking of the sleep pattern in the night affects the overall biological clock where the ‘actual’ rest time of the body is badly disturbed.

A bus driver who was hypertensive was put on a high dosage of drugs but his condition didn’t improve. The cardiologist asked for a sleep test and it was found that his disturbed sleep was the reason for the ineffectiveness of the drug. He was then put on a different set of medicines and therapy and it was only then that his condition improved.

Similarly, a business executive suffered from inability to think clearly and had frequent headaches and irritable behaviour. He visited behavioural therapist and was on therapy and medicine. In one such session, the experts realized that his sleep pattern required to be analyzed as he was found to dose off in the middle of sessions. The study showed a disturbed pattern due to which his clarity of thoughts and work pattern suffered.

Sleep Apnea diagnosed in sleep study:

Waking up 5 times per hour – obstructive sleep apnea.

Waking up between 5 to 15 times per hour – mild sleep apnea.

Waking up between 15 to 30 times per hour – moderate sleep apnea.

Waking up 30 times per hour – severe sleep apnea.