Just got this article from my dad. Baca la buat iktibar.
Ni rajin blog pun sebab copy/paste je lol.
Sorry guys ttyl.
Lack Of Sleep Can Kill: WHAT REALLY KILLED RANJAN DAS
( 42 ), FORMER CEO OF SAP INDIA ?
To be shared with the younger generation.
Ranjan Das Passed Away on Wednesday, 21-October-2009
http://www.enterpriseirregulars.com/1628/ranjan-das-passed-away
SAP India CEO Ranjan Das Dies After Gym Workout
http://www.indiatvnews.com/main/newsdetails.php?id=277&mod=1&smod
Ranjan Das, CEO and MD of SAP Indian subcontinent
died after a massive cardiac arrest in Mumbai on Wednesday.
One of the youngest CEOs, he was 42
Carried : Wednesday, 11-November-2009
What killed Ranjan Das and Lessons for Corporate India
http://www.tamilbrahmins.com/general-discussions/3198-lack-sleep-cardiac
-problems.html
A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from
Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian
Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India . He was very active
in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to
see him run on Bandra's Carter Road . Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he
returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive
heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young
kids.
It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India . However, it was
even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid
marathoner ( in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of
us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away ), the question came as
to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack
at 42 years of age.
Was it the stress?
A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had
mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in
most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer
the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.
The Real Reason
However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan
used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of
Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out': Boss' Day Out: Ranjan Das
of SAP India
Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep ( and that
he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to
what others extolled ).
The Evidence
Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject
of 'Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep'. While I cannot share the
video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have
distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our
lives.
Some Excerpts:
* Short sleep duration ( <5 or 5-6 hours ) increased risk for high BP by
350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night.
Paper published in 2009. As you know, high BP kills.
* Young people ( 25-49 years of age ) are twice as likely to get high BP
if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.
* Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased
risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.
* Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations
of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor
of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels
stayed high!!
* Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body
such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha)
and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical
conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Paper
published in 2004.
* Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart
disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart
disease. Paper published in 2006.
Ideal Sleep
For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture.
But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM ( Rapid Eye Movement
) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter
helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate
between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.
The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your
pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The
latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.
For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is
more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6
hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of
REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in
a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep ), you are tired
throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down (
I've been there, done that ).
Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to
repair the running related damage.
If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth
Sleepiness Test below.
Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above
abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24,
the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don't like to
drive ( maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that line ).
In conclusion:
Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper
food, exercising ( marathoning! ), maintaining proper weight. But he
missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my
opinion, that killed him.
If you are not getting enough sleep ( 7 hours ), you are playing with
fire, even if you have low stress.
I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever
the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the
scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do
not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse
to get some more sleep.
Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep.
Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance. Please
forward this mail/article to as many of your colleagues/friends as
possible, especially those who might be short-changing their sleep. If
we can save even one young life because of this email, I would be the
happiest person on earth.
