Sleep deprivation a slow killer… (A lesson from the death of Ranjan Das, Former CEO and MD of SAP-Indian subcontinent)

What is Sleep Deprivation…

For Wikipedia , Sleep deprivation is the condition of not getting enough sleep; Which can be either chronic or acute. When chronic, it can lead to fatigue, clumsiness, daytime sleepiness weight gain and loss, more so it can seriously affect the cognitive and as well as brain function.

How Dangerous Is Sleep Deprivation, Really?

According to Dr. Mercola, "remember that feeling you get any day you did not sleep well, you wake up feeling cranky, over tired and emotional? This is just a little effect of what happens to your body when you deprive it of enough sleep as it can lead to health related problems which includes both mental and physical issues". Dr. Mercola further reiterated that sleep is every bit as vital for optimal health as clean water, exercise and healthy food.

While the exact mechanisms of sleep are yet a mystery, growing number of research is showing that your body’s sleep-wake cycle plays a vital role in multiple body processes. Everything is impacted from energy levels to mood, weight gain and increase in disease. Far from simply helping you to feel alert, it should be noted that getting enough amount of sleep forms the basis for your body to function optimally.

Three Primary Risks when sleep is deprived…

Sleep deprivation doesn’t just affect one aspect of your health, rather it impacts many, some of which are these three major risks to your physical and mental well being-

1.Slows Reaction Time: Once you did not get enough sleep, your reaction will not be as quickly as you usually do making some potentially risky activities you engage in like driving and using power equipment's risky. According to one study, feeling sleepy behind a wheel was nearly as dangerous as drunk driving.

2.Lack of sleep also dampens your ability to think: If you don’t get enough sleep, you will have difficulty retaining memories, processing information, and making decisions, as such, it is very important to ensure you get a good night’s sleep prior to important events at work or home.

3.Heightened emotions: As your reaction time and brain activities slow, your emotions will be kicked into high gear. Consequently, arguments with co-workers at work and also at home with your partner are likely and you’re probably going to be at fault for unnecessarily blowing things out of proportion.

More so, previous studies have shown that lack of adequate sleep has the same effect on ones immune system as physical stress or illness which explains why inadequate sleep relates to increased risk of numerous diseases.

Healthy Food, Enough Sleep, Daily Exercise: Why You Seriously Need All 3 to Be Successful

W.H.O advises that to lead a healthy live, one must eat healthy food; get enough rest (Sleep) and exercise. For Rhett Power, Healthy people are more productive, creative and mentally sharp (Power, 2017). What you eat affects your productivity in different ways, so eat smart. Working out is a great outlet for relieving stress, to distract you from daily pressures—and to get fit at the same time. Regular exercise wards off depression and a host of other mental blocks that make success hard to achieve.

For issues of not getting enough sleep, Rhett Power suggests creating a regular schedule certainly helps. If you work primarily from home, create definitive work hours, making sure you give yourself enough time to unwind after finishing your daily work schedule. If work is still on your mind when you in bed, you'll definitely find yourself lying awake for a while. And when your alarm clock rings, ensure you get up & resist the temptation to oversleep thereby messing up your sleep cycle.

The story of Ranjan Das & lessons from his death

For those of us who did not hear or read about the tragic death of a young enterprising former CEO of SAP Indian subcontinent, Ranjan Das who was a very successful business man that started his career at a very young age, climbing the cooperate ladder very quickly, considered to be one of the best young business tycoon who is an achiever both in corporate India and globally. As usual, on 21st day of October 2009 in Bandra, Mumbai, he went for his routine workouts. Upon returning home from the gym he shouted in pain holding his chest, after which he fell down and never got up! He just had a massive cardiac arrest and was just 42yrs. He was survived by his wife and two very young kids.

What went wrong with Ranjan Das ! Let’s find out…

Everyone who heard about his death back then was shocked and eager to learn the reason behind the death of a vibrant, successful and athletic young man. People were already asking questions how come such a sports loving, healthy living young man like Ranjan Das suddenly died. Was it his marathon that killed him, or was it too much of work out or style of eating? People came up with many theories and assumptions but nobody can fathom the actual cause of death.

Analyzing Ranjan Das life, it was evident the young man absorbed a great stress at work. This is also a common feature in the life of many of us Steemians. We are involved in a lot of stressful lifestyle. Surprisingly doctors found that Ranjan Das has only slept between 4 – 5 hours a day on a regular basis which he acknowledged some many years ago on a TV show with NDTV.

After the investigation by a renowned cardiologist in India to his cause of death by looking into a few key living habits of Ranjan Das, the Cardiologist came to the final conclusion that his sudden death was because he did not have enough sleep continuously for a long time, as such he confirmed the cause of death as lack of sleep!.

Some Key points about sleep according to experts

Sleeping less than 5 -6 hours can cause irregular blood pressure. Can be either high or low blood pressure.
For the age group of between 25-49, they may face severe high blood pressure situation if they sleep less than 7 hours a day.
For those who sleep less than 5hrs a day, should be aware that higher risk of heart attack could be 3 times more.
If one sleeps less, high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP) levels could go high (hs-cRP is a pre indicative tool of a heart attack). Be aware that even if you sleep enough after hs-cRP level goes high, you cannot lower it to normal levels easily.
Just one night of not getting enough sleep could imbalance our bodily chemicals such as tumor Necrosis Factor –Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). Which could work as toxins within our body which helps cancer cells to grow also increasing risk of heart attacks.
Sleeping less than 6 hours can increase the risk of heart attacks by 18%

There are two types of categories of sleep which are REM (Rapid Eye Movement ) & non-REM. For REM, it supports the brain and mind while non-REM repairs your body. You experience the both when you have a good long sleep in the night. What comes first is non-REM sleep. During this time pituitary hormones are ejected to prepare and repair the body. Once that process is over comes the REM sleep which helps our mental stability.

Back to Ranjan Das, here is what happened…
Ranjan Das was very careful about his food. He exercised daily making it a regular part of life. He also has a fine body. However, he forgot very vital thing, which was sufficient sleep. He only sleeps 4-5 hrs a day which consequently increased his stress level and risk of heart attack.

Lesson to all of us
What happened to this young, vibrant and athletic man (Ranjan Das) can happen to any of us at any time because most of us are working like Ranjas Das did having many duties we are responsible for both at work and at home. If we must combine all these duties, we should remember to live a healthy live by ensuring enough rest/sleep, healthy food and exercise so as not to die prematurely.
Endeavor to sleep at least 7 hours every day. This act will be a great investment for your life which keeps you and your family happy and healthy together.

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Sources:

1. THE MIRROR POST
   Source link : http://www.themirrorpost.com/2015/03/sleep-7-hours-deceased-young.html
2. UBNATURAL
   Source link: http://urbanatural.in/information/ranjan-das-ceo-and-md-of-sap-indian-subcontinent-died-after-a-massive-cardiac-arrest/?i=1
3. Mercola
   Source link: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/03/27/sleep-deprivation-risks.aspx
4. Success
   Source link: http://www.success.com/mobile/article/food-sleep-exercise-why-you-seriously-need-all-3-to-be-successful
5. Wikipedia
   Source link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_deprivation
   Image sources: Google Images & the mirror post