Teenagers lose sleep

Chandreyee Ghose, TT, Mar 21, 2018, Calcutta: Teenagers hooked to fast food and glued to their seats, watching TV or browsing phones, may be putting themselves at risk of sleep apnoea.

Doctors in the city have noticed a rise in the number of teenagers suffering from sleep apnoea, a type of sleep disorder, in recent years. Three out of 10 patients below 20 years have shown signs of the disorder in the past five years, said pulmonologist Raja Dhar. The main reasons - obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.

Patients suffering from sleep apnoea face one or more obstructions in their airway - the passage from the tip of the nose to the lungs - while sleeping. Obstructive breathing is often caused when the tissue at the back of the throat collapses during sleep.

The initial signs of sleep apnoea often go unnoticed, thus aggravating the problem in later years. "Snoring is the most common symptom but rarely do teenagers approach doctors for snoring," said pulmonologist Dhar.

What prompts them to seek help are lack of concentration, shortness of temper, daytime fatigue and the inability to complete a job or take on new responsibilities - all signs of sleep apnoea.

"The number of teenagers suffering from sleep apnoea has increased triple fold. It is a metabolism syndrome with diabetes, hypertension, obesity and sleep apnoea following one another," Dhar said.

Doctors also blame lifestyle for the condition. "Most teenagers live on fast food and many take to smoking and drinking by 16. They prefer sitting for hours before a computer screen to getting some exercise. All this makes them prone to sleep apnoea," said head and neck surgeon Manojendra N. Bhattacharyya, who started a sleep apnoea clinic at a city hospital. "Sleep apnoea can be controlled with weight loss and a healthy lifestyle."

Pulmonologist Saibal Moitra said sleep apnoea patients are more prone to asthma.

Left untreated, sleep apnoea can lead to cardiac problems and even an attack in sleep, Bhattacharya said.

Right diagnosis is crucial. "Most teenagers spend hours gazing at bright flickering objects that rob them of deep sleep," Dhar said.