Sleepless in Hyderabad

Here is an article that RetroSweater wrote that got published in the Indian Express "Expresso" Magazine:
When the average citizens are snug in their beds in the wee hours of the morning, there are certain professionals who are just getting to work. In today’s fast paced world, it has become common to judge how busy a person is by how much sleep they get. Those getting little to no sleep are usually believed to be the busiest or most accomplished people. We wanted to know more about these night owls and the effects of sleeplessness on the Hyderabadi professional. Experts say that the lack of proper sleep can cause several problems with one’s work. Constant drowsiness aside, there can also be difficulty concentrating on work tasks, memory lapses, poor performance and moodiness. Plus,
‘Lack of sleep and neglect of sleep can cause several other problems like obesity and hormonal changes’ according to Dr. Vindhya of Apollo Hospital.
There is nothing routine about being a surgeon and the ability to adjust to a stressful and demanding lifestyle is what differentiates this profession from any other. As Dr. Tripti Deb puts it, “there’s no schedule, you have to be versatile. Whatever comes you have to take it.” Constantly engaged in several other practices outside their main domain, the primary complaint of many is that they are left with no time for family. Even on an officially declared holiday, an emergency trumps family clearly indicating the inability of today’s professionals to ‘switch off’. According to Head Constable of the Police Department, night calls can last the duration of the night, “Night calls come once or twice a week after which I go home, have something to eat and come back to work.”
Then there are BPO employees, the perfect example of an entire generation of sleep-deprived young professionals. “It’s not easy to get a restful sleep during the day because there are a lot of distractions and I get a maximum of 4 hours sleep. I have to get up by 10am because there are responsibilities to be seen to,” says Madiha Ahmedi of HSBC. Students catching just four to five hours of sleep a day in an attempt to balance work and studies end up missing out on their social life, “I don’t have time to spend with friends because I catch up on my sleep during the weekends off!” says Madiha.
One can easily see that the result of such a hectic and unbalanced schedule could lead people to burn out early in life. However, there is some hope in getting rest without having to change careers. Looking at the active and energetic Senior Cardiologist, Dr. Tripti Deb, one would never expect that she sometimes takes on 72-hour work shifts, nor would you expect that she takes naps and does yoga between patients. According to this vivacious doctor, the key to functioning without sleep is a healthy lifestyle.
Her diet consists of, not copious amounts of coffee, but rather antioxidants (found in green tea), green veggies and an overall “rainbow diet” of fruits. She also practices yoga, including the techniques of Shavasana (also known as ‘corps pose’) and Yoga Nidra, which translates to ‘sleep of the yogis.’ To this doctor, regarding sleep as well as family “it’s not how much time you spend, it’s the quality time you spend.” Approaching a challenging work life as this with a positive attitude, taking it all in one’s stride helps to keep focused and fresh when meeting the high demands of work in today’s Hydrabad.