But according to Dr Navin Gnanasekaran, head of radiology at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, and author of The 100-Year Blueprint, India’s first book on longevity, that mindset is driving many people towards poor health – and, in some cases, even the intensive care unit.
“The number one reason,” he says, “is sleep.”
India is among the two most sleep-deprived countries in the world, second only to Japan, says Dr Gnanasekaran.
But unlike Japan, which has a longer-lived population and different genetic and lifestyle factors, India’s widespread sleep deficit is adding to an already heavy burden of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and mental health problems.
Most healthy adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night to function at their best, according to guidelines from major health groups like the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
But surveys have shown that a large number of Indians fare poorly on sleep duration. A survey by LocalCircles, an Indian community social media and governance platform, which came out in March this year showed that nearly 6 out of 10 adults get less than six hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Also, the number of people faltering on the minimum required sleep duration has risen every year since 2022, this survey showed.
Dr Gnanasekaran insisted that far from being wasted time, sleep is the body’s nightly repair programme.
Every night, the brain clears waste products, the body resets key hormonal systems, and organs undergo maintenance that cannot be replicated during waking hours. Consistently cutting sleep short, he warns, means missing out on these critical biological processes.
“We have skipped on sleep,” he says. “It is a complete reboot protocol that happens to your system every single night.”
WHY SLEEP MATTERS
Many people think sleep is simply about the number of hours spent in bed. In reality, quality matters just as much.
Sleep consists of three broad stages – light sleep, deep sleep and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep – each playing a distinct role in restoring the body and mind.
Deep sleep, which occurs largely during the first few hours after falling asleep, is crucial for physical recovery, immune function and metabolic health. REM sleep, which dominates the early morning hours, supports memory, emotional processing and creativity.
When people sleep late, wake up too early, or survive on just three or four hours of sleep, they miss significant portions of these restorative stages.
The consequences extend well beyond daytime fatigue.
Dr Gnanasekaran points to disruptions in insulin sensitivity and elevated cortisol levels, both of which increase the risk of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Chronic sleep deprivation has also been linked to impaired concentration, mood disorders and weakened immunity.
Ironically, many high achievers believe they are “biohacking” their bodies by sleeping less.
Some founders proudly claim that exactly three hours and 45 minutes is all their body needs. Dr Gnanasekaran has a blunt response: these are often the people who eventually land in the ICU.
One of the biggest culprits, he says, is late-night eating.
A heavy dinner shortly before bedtime delays deep sleep because the body is still focused on digestion. Since digestion generates heat and demands considerable metabolic activity, the body cannot fully prioritise restorative sleep.
His advice is simple: finish eating at least three hours before bedtime so digestion is largely complete before sleep begins.
Caffeine is another underestimated disruptor.
Many people assume an afternoon coffee is harmless, but caffeine has a half-life of around eight hours. A cup of coffee at 3 pm, he explains, can leave enough caffeine in the body at bedtime to interfere with deep sleep. Ideally, coffee should be avoided seven to eight hours before sleeping.
Late-night exercise can have a similar effect. While physical activity is beneficial overall, strenuous workouts close to bedtime may delay the onset of deep sleep by keeping the body stimulated. Alcohol, despite making people feel sleepy initially, also disrupts the quality of deep sleep.
REM sleep, meanwhile, depends on staying asleep into the early morning hours.
Many entrepreneurs romanticise the idea of waking up at 2 or 3 am to work during what they call the “God hour”, believing creativity peaks in the middle of the night.
Dr Gnanasekaran disagrees.
Creative breakthroughs often occur because REM sleep helps the brain connect ideas and solve problems. Waking immediately after such moments may produce a flash of inspiration, but cutting sleep short sacrifices the remaining REM cycles that could be even more beneficial.
“The actual God hour,” he argues, “is the morning.”
Exposing the eyes to natural sunlight soon after waking helps reset the body’s circadian rhythm, making it easier to sleep well the following night. Conversely, bright screens and blue light late in the evening delay the brain’s readiness for sleep.
That is why he keeps his phone outside the bedroom.
Removing phones and laptops from the sleeping environment not only reduces blue-light exposure but also breaks the habit of endless scrolling before bed and checking notifications the moment one wakes up.
SMALL HABITS, BIG GAINS
Of course, perfect sleep is easier said than done.
Parents of young children, shift workers and people juggling demanding jobs often know exactly what healthy sleep looks like but struggle to achieve it.
Dr Gnanasekaran acknowledges that reality.
Rather than chasing perfection or stressing over factors beyond one’s control, he recommends focusing on small, sustainable changes.
Start by charging the phone outside the bedroom. Dim the lights an hour before bedtime. Keep the bedroom cool – around 22°C instead of 24°C if comfortable. A warm shower before bed may also help by increasing blood flow to the skin, allowing the body to cool more efficiently afterwards, a process that naturally promotes sleep.
Most importantly, avoid trying to transform everything overnight.
He advocates “habit stacking” – adding one manageable healthy habit each week until they become automatic.
Equally notable is what he does not recommend.
Instead of immediately turning to melatonin supplements, magnesium tablets or expensive sleep trackers, he urges people to strengthen the fundamentals first.
“The foundation has to be right,” he says. “Before we worry about biohacking, we have to build a strong foundation.”
In a country where sleep is increasingly sacrificed in pursuit of success, that may be the simplest, and yet most powerful, health prescription of all.
– Ends
