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Not sleeping well? Air pollution could be the reason behind it

[email protected] (Agencies)
May 22, 2017

New Delhi, May 22: Air pollution has been linked to a number health problems. By reducing air pollution levels, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says countries can reduce the burden of disease from stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and both chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma.sleep

Now, researchers have linked air pollution to poor sleep, adding that greater exposure to nitrogen dioxide and small particulates known as PM 2.5s may disrupt your sleep.

The findings showed that traffic-related air pollution known as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) caused low sleep efficiency - a measure of the percentage of time in bed spent asleep versus awake time - and increased wake time in bed.

"The study indicates the possibility that commonly experienced levels of air pollution not only affect heart and lung disease, but also sleep quality," said lead author Martha E. Billings, MD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington.

"The effect was likely given that air pollution causes upper airway irritation, swelling and congestion, and may also affect the central nervous system and brain areas that control breathing patterns and sleep," Billings added.

In the study, nearly 88 per cent participants had lower sleep efficiency and 11 per cent had nearly 60 minutes of wake time in bed.

Further, people with the highest levels of NO2 over five years had an almost 60 per cent increased likelihood of having low sleep efficiency compared to those with the lowest NO2 levels.

People with the highest exposures to small particulates (PM2.5) had a nearly 50 per cent increased likelihood of having low sleep efficiency.

Exposure to air pollution is associated with cardiovascular mortality and pulmonary morbidity, including asthma, COPD, lower respiratory infections and possibly sleep apnea.

Sleep deprivation may result in impairment of judgement, depression, heart problems, obesity and drastic reduction in the general well being of an individual.

For the study, the team analysed data from 1,863 participants (average age 68).

"Improving air quality may be one way to enhance sleep health and perhaps reduce health disparities," Billings suggested.

The findings have been presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.

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Agencies
March 16,2020

New Delhi, Mar 16: A recent survey across 140 districts of the country shows that about 54 per cent of Indians are finding travelling to be unsafe as the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sweeps globally.

The big worry that people have is community transmission, something that researchers from around the world have approximated at 10 per cent of total infections and more common in places like Wuhan in China, South Korea, Iran and Italy.

The months of March to June have historically been high travel season for most Indians, largely due to the summer vacations in schools. "But it seems that Indians do not want to take a chance with this rather scary virus and are either cancelling or postponing their travel plans," concluded the survey by LocalCircles.

The survey gathered more than 22,000 responses from participants in tier one, two and three cities. It said 48 per cent Indians plan to cancel their international business travel for the next four months.

Besides, nearly 38 per cent of respondents said they had to pay cancellation fee to the website, travel agent, airline or railways.

"These are testing times for the entire travel and tourism industry -- airlines, hotels, travel agents as well as small tour and taxi operators. The best solution at this point is to adjust cost structures, stay flexible and work with a collective approach to minimise the period of impact to both citizens and business," said LocalCircles.

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Agencies
July 4,2020

The Union health ministry on Friday revised the dosage of anti-viral drug remdesivir to be administered to coronavirus patients in the moderate stage of illness from the earlier six days to five days as it issued an updated 'Clinical Management Protocols for COVID-19'.

The drug, administered in the form of injection, should be given at a dose of 200 mg on day one followed by 100 mg daily for four days (total five days), the new treatment protocols stated.

The Health Ministry on June 13 had allowed the use of remdesivir for restricted emergency use in moderate cases under "investigational therapies".

"Under emergency use authorisation, remdesivir may be considered for patients in moderate stage requiring oxygen support," the document stated.

It is not recommended for those with severe renal impairment and high level of liver enzymes, pregnant and lactating women, and those below 12 years, it said.

The ministry also okayed off-label application of tocilizumab, a drug that modifies the immune system or its functioning, and convalescent plasma for treating COVID-19 patients in the moderate stage of illness as "investigational therapies".

It also recommended hydroxychloroquine for patients during the early course of the disease and not for critically-ill patients.

On June 27, the ministry had included an inexpensive, widely used steroid dexamethasone in treatment protocols for COVID-19 patients in the moderate to severe stages of their illness among other therapeutic measures.

The ministry advised use of dexamethasone, which is already used in a wide range of conditions for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant effects, as an alternative choice to methylprednisolone for managing moderate to severe cases of coronavirus infection.

India's COVID-19 cases soared by over 20,000 in a day for the first time taking the country's total tally to 6,25,544 on Friday while the death toll climbed to 18,213 with 379 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated at 8 am.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New York, Jul 30: Can the coronavirus spread through the air? Yes, it's possible.

The World Health Organisation recently acknowledged the possibility that Covid-19 might be spread in the air under certain conditions.

Recent Covid-19 outbreaks in crowded indoor settings — restaurants, nightclubs and choir practices — suggest the virus can hang around in the air long enough to potentially infect others if social distancing measures are not strictly enforced.

Experts say the lack of ventilation in these situations is thought to have contributed to spread, and might have allowed the virus to linger in the air longer than normal.

In a report published in May, researchers found that talking produced respiratory droplets that could remain in the air in a closed environment for about eight to 14 minutes.

The WHO says those most at risk from airborne spread are doctors and nurses who perform specialized procedures such as inserting a breathing tube or putting patients on a ventilator.

Medical authorities recommend the use of protective masks and other equipment when doing such procedures.

Scientists maintain it's far less risky to be outside than indoors because virus droplets disperse in the fresh air, reducing the chances of Covid-19 transmission.

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