The next time you are lying in bed desperately trying to get your 40 winks, and counting sheep isn't helping much, you could spend some time instead pondering about this whole business of sleep. The predicament of those suffering from insomnia like you, as well as those with the opposite problem - keeping awake during work hours - has metamorphosed into a big business globally. Serious researchers in research laboratories around the world are trying to unravel the full mysteries of how the brain and body acts during sleep. Other serious researchers are meanwhile trying to come up with better drugs to help you sleep and also keep awake. Meanwhile, an entrepreneur is offering sleep pods to offices in New York where the harassed executive can take a short nap to recharge himself (See Working Siesta, BW 30 April 2007). Drug companies are raking it in as the sale of sleep drugs explode. And sundry others - from makers of special mattresses designed to help you fall asleep to sellers of the apparatus that helps chronic snorers breathe better while sleeping are all making big bucks.

There are no estimates of how big the whole business of sleep disorders is, but here are some numbers that will help you gauge its potential. A study in 2004 estimated that the sale of sleep drugs in the US and Europe alone is more than $ 3 billion and possibly growing at 12-15 per cent per annum. The champion drug in the US for sleep - Ambien made by Sanofi-Aventis - rakes in over $ 1.5 billion by itself and is estimated to control over 80 per cent of the US market. (In Europe, Ambien's market share is lower). The US FDA has just approved generic versions of Ambien's molecule (Zolpidem Tartrate) as the patent of the drug is expiring. A dozen Indian companies are in the fray to supply generics of Ambien in the US market and the market itself is expected to double or even triple as the generics come in. Meanwhile in India, the research agency ORG calculates that the market of hypnotic and anxiolytic drugs (drugs commonly prescribed to help you get a good night's snooze) as well as neurotonics (which keep you alert at work) is worth Rs 1500 crore (See table). That's just money spent on drugs and doesn't include money spent on anything else whether doctor's visits or specialized mattresses.

Sleep has started getting a lot of attention of late simply because people are sleeping less and the effects are showing up in their work. Though the normal man spends nearly a third of his life sleeping, what happens during the state of slumber is still not as well known as doctors and scientists would like. What is known is that there are different stages of sleep and the brain waves function quite differently during the different stages. Research shows that the body and mind is rejevunated during sleep though no one knows the precise mechanism of how this happens. Of late, research has showed that sleep aids memories and chronic lack of sleep can lead to all sorts of problems ranging from reduced immunity to attention deficit disorder to even diabetes. Sleep can also lead to depression. Conversely, depression can also lead to sleep disorders. One full night's lack of sleep has been shown to affect your reflexes much the same way as several pegs of hard liquor. The mind's ability to do work properly after a bad night of sleep is considerably impaired. Stress causes sleeplessness and sleeplessness increases your stress.

There are over a 100 sleep disorders that have been diagnosed and yet only a handful are understood in any way. There are people who have trouble sleeping and there are people who fall asleep but have trouble keeping that way. Then there are the people who have excessive daytime sleepiness - a condition called narcolepsy. Sleep apnea - a condition where breathing ceases for a fraction of a second, interrupting sleep - is a condition that is being diagnosed increasingly these days among snorers. The problem with sleep apnea is that you might think you have got a full night's sleep but you could still be tired during the day simply because you haven't really managed to get proper rest. Sleep apnea is particularly common among the overweight and those who snore a lot. And the only way it can be treated currently is by wearing a special equipment called CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) which keeps your airways open while sleeping. Recent research has shown that sleep apnea can be life threatening on occasion and therefore needs to be treated very seriously.