The Real Problem India Needs To Solve is Sleep
Table of Contents
Why Sleep is a Silent Health Crisis in India
What happens when we don’t sleep well?
Reframing Sleep as a National Priority
Ask any doctor.
They’ll tell you that there are three pillars of health: diet, exercise and sleep.
While young, ambitious India prioritises getting adequate protein while working out regularly, the art of sleeping well is routinely sacrificed in the pursuit of the hustle.
The result? A nation that is severely sleep-deprived.
Nearly 60% of Indians sleep less than six hours a night, and an alarming number sleep less than four hours. And this is not just an urban problem; it is a nationwide health crisis that’s about to implode.
India is a young, ambitious country. Every athlete wants to be the next Virat Kohli, every actress the next Alia Bhatt, every entrepreneur the next Nikhil Kamath. In chasing these dreams, sleep is often the first casualty.
Sleep is the foundation of good health, and without it, we make poor decisions, risk burnout, and jeopardise India’s broader ambition of becoming a $10 trillion economy by 2032.
Mathew Chandy, Director and Sleep Evangelist at Duroflex
Why Sleep is a Silent Health Crisis in India
India is the second most sleep-deprived country in the world, after Japan, resulting in irritability, sleeplessness, inability to concentrate, lower national economic productivity, and so much more. So, how did we get here?
Our national sleep deficit is the outcome of several overlapping factors.
India is the second sleep-deprived country in the world.
Hyper-Connected Lifestyles
Across the country, internet usage is on the rise. India currently has over 800 million internet users, driven by an explosion of mobile-first experiences, including OTT, social media, e-commerce, WhatsApp notifications and work messages at night.
According to EY, Indians spend over 5+ hours a day on social media, gaming and streaming videos. Many of those hours are spent just before bedtime. Blue light exposure from phones and laptops suppresses melatonin, the hormone that regulates your body’s sleep/awake state.
Work Culture & Stress
Rapid urbanisation, intense competition, high cost of living, growing aspirations and ambitions, and the elevation of ‘struggle’ as a sign of success are some of the many reasons why India is busy hustling.
What is left in the wake of busy schedules, burning the midnight oil, and 70-hour weeks? A shattered muddle of decreased productivity, burnout, poor physical health conditions, anxiety and stress, which increases cortisol and keeps the brain in alert mode, making it harder to fall asleep.
Figure 1 - The dark side of the hustle culture
Undiagnosed Sleep Disorders
According to experts, many sleep disorders in India go undiagnosed and untreated. Instead, they are normalised with home remedies used as a fix.
Consider these alarming statistics. Without adequate medical attention, these disorders continue to affect the sleep patterns of a large percentage of our population.
Figure 2 - Millions suffer. Few get diagnosed.
Cultural And Lifestyle Habits
Our way of life also interferes with our sleeping habits.
Late-night spicy dinners, high caffeine intake, sedentary lifestyles, watching television with the family till late at night, multi-generational homes with different sleep schedules, and so much more disrupt and interrupt our sleep patterns.
Poor Sleep Hygiene
Noisy sleep environments, humid conditions, low air quality, constant din of traffic, limited ventilation, bed sharing, and old, lumpy mattresses are some of the factors that interrupt a good night’s sleep.
There are three aspects of good sleep: duration, continuity and depth of sleep. The key to achieving all those? Good sleep hygiene. This includes a noise-free, clean environment, with a good mattress that supports the body.
Figure 3 - Good sleep hygiene is key
What happens when we don’t sleep well?
Poor sleep impacts us, individually and collectively.
Poor sleep often results in a higher risk of heart disease, increased insulin resistance, lower productivity, poorer decision-making, and lower economic output.
For a nation as ambitious as ours, sleep is not optional; it is foundational to our success.
Reframing Sleep as a National Priority
India’s sleep crisis is real but solvable.
With better awareness, science-backed habits, and environments designed for restorative rest, sleep can move from being an afterthought to a performance enabler.
It requires better sleep hygiene, including better habits, daily behaviours and environmental conditions that support consistent, high-quality sleep. These are:
- Practice the art of stillness before bedtime - Spending the last hour before bedtime, winding down, is an effective way to signal to our brain that it’s time to sleep. This means reducing screen exposure, dimming bright lights, and generally, slowing down.
- Maintain a consistent sleep schedule – Protect the circadian rhythm, our natural internal clock. Sleeping and waking at different times each day disrupts this rhythm and reduces sleep quality.
- Create a sleep-friendly environment - Reduce noise, heat, humidity and poor spinal support. Companies like Duroflex are working with sleep scientists to design orthopaedic mattresses that support spinal alignment and improve sleep ergonomics.
- Prioritise movement - Physical activity helps regulate the biological drive to sleep. It improves sleep quality, increases deep sleep and reduces sleep disruptions.
- Reduce stimulants - Heavy dinners late at night, excessive caffeine intake and watching television or being on our phones till late at night disrupt our sleep. Keeping things light and easy before bedtime will help.
Unfortunately, mattress hygiene is one of the most ignored aspects of sleep. A mattress should be cleaned regularly and most importantly, also replaced every 7 to 10 years to truly support healthy and restorative sleep. Sleeplessness and sleep deprivation is a growing public health concern.
Dr. Monika Sharma
Sleep specialist and the founder of Sleep Moksha, a Behavioural Sleep Medicine clinic
Sleep is not the opposite of ambition. It is the foundation that makes ambition sustainable.
If India wants to build, innovate, and lead on the global stage, we must start by doing something deceptively simple. We must learn to sleep well. It may seem simple, but deep sleep’s impact on our health, creativity, and productivity is profound.
Deep sleep begins with the right support. That’s where Duroflex Airboost comes in. Built with 1 lakh+ AirKnit fibres, Duroflex’s next-gen sleep technology adapts to your spine, improves breathability, and helps you experience 30% more deep sleep. So, you wake up better rested, recovered, and ready for more.
