Make Sleep Health a Priority—The Need of the Hour

To the Editor, World Sleep Day was observed on March 14, with the 2025 theme, "Make Sleep Health a Priority."Despite spending nearly one-third of our lives asleep, sleep remains one of the most neglected aspects of health.It is vital for cognitive function, emotional stability, and physical well-being.Yet, modern lifestyles often undermine sleep, leading to serious health consequences.The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society (SRS) recommend that adults sleep at least 7 hours per night for optimal health.Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, depression, and increased mortality. 1Sleep health must be prioritized to reduce these risks and enhance overall well-being.Sleep is a complex neurobehavioral state that affects multiple physiological systems.Health today is defined not just by the absence of disease but also by wellness, performance, and adaptability.Sleep health aligns with this modern definition and can be assessed through key dimensions such as duration, efficiency, timing, sleepiness, and quality.Objective assessments like actigraphy and polysomnography can help evaluate these parameters.Integrating sleep health into public health initiatives can enhance individual and societal well-being while reducing healthcare costs. 2 Despite its importance, sleep disorders remain underdiagnosed.The International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD-3) categorizes them into insomnia, sleep-disordered breathing, central hypersomnolence, circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, parasomnias, and sleep-related movement disorders. 3Many require specialized evaluation, and their management often involves a multidisciplinary approach including physicians, neurologists, psychiatrists, and dentists.Delayed diagnosis can lead to chronic health complications, further emphasizing the need for awareness and timely intervention.The impact of sleep deprivation extends beyond individual health, affecting cognition, reaction time, and workplace productivity.Sleep loss contributes to road traffic accidents, medical errors, and reduced work efficiency.Recognizing its significance, the American Heart Association (AHA) has added sleep duration to its Life's Essential 8 for cardiovascular health.Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Academy of Neurology acknowledge sleep as a key determinant of brain health. 4 Despite overwhelming evidence, sleep health is often overlooked in public health strategies, besides being ignored even by medical professionals.It is ironic that the people who must advice everyone else for a good sleep hygiene are the ones who rarely practice it. 5Addressing this requires education, research, and policy interventions.Public awareness campaigns, schoolbased sleep education, and workplace wellness programs can encourage better sleep habits.Medical curricula should integrate orciD