23-year-old Student having sleepless nights after the COVID-19 outbreak

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Pranab Barua (name changed), a 23-year-old student started having sleepless nights after the COVID-19 outbreak and consequent lockdown forced him to return to the city here from Mumbai, thereby disrupting his hectic college routine. Though the classes shifted online, worries about an uncertain future keep him wide awake till the wee hours of the morning.

Priya Sarma (name changed) was never obsessed about her sleep, until now. "Normally, I would go to bed at 10 in the night and wake up by 5 am," says the city-based marketing professional, who is in her early 30s. During the last three months, though, Priya has been getting up at 2 am, 3 am and 4 am every night. "I check my sleep tracking app once a week; and it shows that I am only getting three to four hours of sleep every day. Normally, when you wake up in the night, you again go back to sleep. These days, the mind is never at rest so that is not happening anymore," says Priya.

Sleep has emerged as a major casualty in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent lockdown in Assam's capital city. The city residents are worried about catching the virus or passing it on to their family. Many of them are extremely concerned about job security and livelihood. In many cases, the lockdown restrictions leave them with nothing time-bound to wake up to either.

"All these developments have led to many city residents seeking therapy complaining of lack of sleep or a ruptured sleep cycle," a somnologist (sleep doctor or specialist) told this reporter. He said in serious cases of sleep disorder the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) would be used.

CBT-I is a structured program that helps you identify and replace thoughts and behaviors that cause or worsen sleep problems with habits that promote sound sleep. "Unlike sleeping pills, CBT-I helps an individual to overcome the underlying causes of his sleep problems," the somnologist said.

On other hand the pharmacies in the city have witnessed a sudden rise in the number of customers seeking sleeping pills and anti-anxiety pills.

"We normally do not give sleep and anti-anxiety tablets to customers without doctors' prescriptions. But in certain we are being compelled to give such pills due to customers insistence and requests," a pharmacist said. He said the pills like Zolfresh and Alzolam are on high demand. Zolfresh tablet is a prescription medicine used for short term treatment of insomnia. It reduces sleep onset time and frequent awakening at night. While Alzolam is a prescription medicine used to treat anxiety.

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