Since its inception in October last year, Tele MANAS, the government-run national tele-mental health helpline, has recorded the highest number of calls seeking help for sleep orders. Of the nearly three lakh calls received so far, over 34,000 were made for sleep disturbance. Calls seeking help for sadness, stress, and anxiety came next.
Of the total 2,98,940 calls received at the national 24/7 helpline as of Tuesday (September 12), as many as 34,139 callers sought help for sleep disturbance. While 32,239 calls received were for seeking help for sadness, 28,000 calls were stress-related. Overall, 44% of the three lakh calls were made by female callers.
To provide affordable access to quality mental health care through tele-services under the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP), the Centre launched the Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele MANAS) initiative on October 10, 2022. NIMHANS is the national Apex Coordinating Centre, and the International Institute of Information Technology (IIITB) in Bengaluru is the technology partner for this helpline.
Sleep disturbance
Sleep disturbances encompass disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep (DIMS, insomnias), disorders of excessive somnolence (DOES), disorders of sleep–wake schedule, and dysfunctions associated with sleep, sleep stages, or partial arousals (parasomnias).
Elaborating on the reasons for sleep disturbances, Naveen Kumar C., Professor of Psychiatry at NIMHANS and Principal Investigator, Apex Coordinating Centre for Tele MANAS, said stress, interpersonal problems, financial issues, anxiety, depression and worries are some of the causes.
“Advice is based on the causes of complaints. While it is important to address the underlying issues, the counsellors advise stress management and sleep hygiene techniques, yoga and meditation and if required, a consultation with a doctor too,” he said.
Sunil Kumar K., Lead Consultant - Interventional Pulmonology at Aster CMI Hospital, said lack of sleep or disturbed sleep affects physical health and also has an immense long-term impact on cognitive function and overall well-being.
“Sleep deprivation can lead to memory issues, inability to focus, and irritability. In the long term, this also impacts one’s overall well-being, leading to low immunity, obesity, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases. Physical illnesses such as arthritis, headaches, or psychological distress such as depression and/or anxiety could also be contributing to this sleep disorder,” he said.
“During sound sleep, your body heals and restores chemical balance. Thus, it is recommended to get at least six to seven hours of uninterrupted sleep,” he added.
Spread across 32 States
T.K. Srikanth, Principal Investigator from IIITB, said with 43 operational Tele MANAS cells spread across 32 States and Union Territories, the service has been catering to around 1,000 calls per day in 20 languages. “However, the number of calls has increased in the last two months. The average number of calls received daily is about 1,800 since the past two months,” he said.
“From concept to deployment of the software and support, apart from training the counsellors on the technology part, is our responsibility. The software helps the counsellors record the case history so that if the same person calls again, there is continuity in care. This also helps in recording data for formulation of policies in future,” Prof. Srikanth added.
Highest calls from Tamil Nadu
Naveen Kumar C., Professor of Psychiatry at NIMHANS and Principal Investigator, Apex Coordinating Centre for Tele MANAS, said the highest number of calls have been received from Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka stands in the eighth position. Tamil Nadu is followed by Maharashtra, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, he said.
