Bulletin of Environment, Pharmacology and Life Sciences

Bull. Env. Pharmacol. Life Sci., Vol 12 [1]December 2022 : 194-201

©2022 Academy for Environment and Life Sciences, India
Online ISSN 2277-1808
Journal’s URL:[Link]
CODEN: BEPLAD
ORIGINAL ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS

Prevalence of Nidra Vega Dharana and its Effects on Night Duty

Workers
Prabhanshu Gupta1*, Krishna Deshpande2, Kadu Smita Shamrao3
1*PG Scholar, Department of Kriya Sharir, Dr. D. Y. Patil College of Ayurved & Research Centre, Dr. D. Y.
Patil Vidyapeeth, (Deemed to be University), Pimpri, Pune – Maharashtra, India-411018.
2 Associate Professor and Guide, Department of Kriya Sharir, Dr. D. Y. Patil College of Ayurved & Research

Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, (Deemed to be University), Pimpri, Pune – Maharashtra, India-411018
3 Professor and HOD, Department of Kriya Sharir, Dr. D. Y. Patil College of Ayurved & Research Centre, Dr.

D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, (Deemed to be University), Pimpri, Pune – Maharashtra, India-411018

Corresponding author E-mail: prabhanshugupta313@[Link]

ABSTRACT
To identify the prevalence of Nidra Vega Dhahran (Lakshanas) and its effects on Night duty workers to correlate
physiological change associated with it. The present study was planned and conducted by enrolling a total of 105 night-
duty healthcare workers of both sex and the 20-50 year age group. The methodology was based on self-reported
information about the questionnaire (Clinical Survey) related to the prevalence of Nidra Vega Dharana. The study was
conducted by extracting and preparing 10 questions from the reported symptoms or Lakshana of Nidra Vega Dharana
reported in the Brihatrayi’s followed by data collection and analysis. On the basis of self-reported information provided
by the night-duty healthcare workers the overall impact showed that around 17.1% of night-duty healthcare workers
showed a positive of 7-9 symptoms, 24.8% showed a positive of 4-6 symptoms and 58.1% showed a positive of 1-3
symptoms respectively. As per the data analysis, it was concluded that the Lakshana of Nidra Vega Dharana is the
modern era and indicates every human being adopts a systematic lifestyle and habits.
Keywords:Nidra Vega Dharana, Irregular Sleeping Habit, Effects of Nidra Vega Dharana, Life, Style, Night Duty
Workers.

Received 12.07.2022 Revised 29.09.2022 Accepted 10.11.2022

INTRODUCTION
Most people before the 1950s believed sleep was only passive activity related to the human body during
which the body and brain were dormant but after long research, the belief now turns out that sleep is
major a period during which the brain is not only engaged in a number of activities that are necessary to
live, while is also closely linked to the quality of life,” Researchers are spending many of their working
hours and trying to discover about the science of sleep and the processes how it affects mental and
physical health. Nowadays the term “sleep” is increasingly recognized as a major component of healthy
development and overall health of every living being [7, 8, 31]. Healthy sleep comprises many
dimensions, including appropriate timing, good quality and adequate duration [6, 12]; Gruber et al., [16].
The poor or absence of any dimension in sleep at night is generally associated with daytime fatigue,
daytime sleepiness, depressed mood, and poor daytime functioning [22, 36, 28, 34, 24]. In the current era,
morbidity and mortality rate is majorly associated with inadequate sleep and now has become a major
concern in many countries, hence, considered it as a chronic insufficient sleep phenomenon which is
associated with adverse health outcomes including depression [38], obesity [37], hypertension [35], types
2 diabetes[26], and all other cause mortality [27]. The major reason for morbidity and mortality is the
disturbance between the internal (Biological) and external (Zeitgerbers) circadian clock [29, 5] which is
responsible for optimal performance during the day time work and restorative sleep. Nowadays
especially in the healthcare sector, the major goal of every country is to provide the continuity of patient
care around the clock, hence, the arrangement is going to work in shifts. The most common shift schedule
is based on the continuous rotating fashion, that is, morning, afternoon, and night shifts [20] with the
negligence of the health of healthcare workers. There is mounting evidence that proved that night shift
work has a major impact on the health and performance of medical personnel due to the basic alteration
of natural circadian sleep and homeostatic processes [3, 4, 25] that can seriously compromise the public

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safety of both medical staff and patients through increasing the workplace accidents and risk of errors
[11, 20, 30]. Based on the evidence now the term “shift work disorder” is a major concern and
experienced by around 20-30% of healthcare shift workers [13, 15, 21]. In Ayurveda, the term “sleep” is
considered a basic and major instinct of life, which is directly associated with the lifestyle of all living
beings [33]. Ancient Ayurveda already covered and described the term of sleep and its related disorders
such as Sushruta Samhita (circa 100 B.C.–900 A.D) [34], CharakaSamhita (circa 300–500 A.D) [1],
and Vagbhatta (circa 700 A.D.) [18]. Ayurveda has two aims i.e., protection and promotion of health and
secondly cure the disease. To attain these aims, various Ayurveda Acharyas have described Dincharya
(daily regimen),Ritucharya (seasonal regimen), Sadvritta (regimen of good conduct),etc. in detail. In
sadvritta, Acharya has mentioned briefly some urges which should not be suppressed. In Ayurveda, these
urges are known as “Vega”. Since, vega is a fundamental concept in Ayurveda, Vegas is created naturally
to eliminate toxins that are produced in the body. The importance of sleep is well accepted by both
Ayurveda and modern science because of its restorative, recuperative, and resting actions in living
organisms [23]. So, it is important to respond to these urges and not suppress them otherwise may lead
to imbalance between “Doshas”. In Ayurveda a unique feature called “dosha” which is generally
determined and based on the psychosomatic attributes of every live being or individual’s personality [2].
The disturbance or imbalance between the doshas results in changes in various body functions especially
brain, including sleep, and can lead to sleep disorders. Sleep is one of the most important phenomenon
and natural urges of the human being and described in “Charka Samhita Sutrasthana adhyaya” 11 as
“upastambha” which comesunder the term “vihar”.As per Ayurveda vihar is consider as a one of the pillar of
every healthy living being and backbone of healthy life. The importance of Nidra is described in “Samhita
Sutrasthana” and the night shift workers are now considering as people who are suppressing some or
most of the natural urges especially sleep, which is the main cause of sickness or health issues associated
with them. Ayurveda described such condition as “Nidra veg Dharan” and majority of night shift works
are associated with it.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

The study sample consisted of 105 night-duty healthcare workers of both sexes. The self-reported socio-
demographic information was recorded from them on a suitable questionnaire. As per the previously
reported chart by various Acharya for the determination of symptomatic events related to Nidra Veg
Dharan took into basic consideration to generate questionnaires, implementation or perform and
document the present study. Considering the symptoms as mentioned in table no 1, a questionnaire was
prepared had the following questions: -
1) Do you do yawning repeatedly?
a) Yes b) No
2) Do you feel malaise?
a) Yes b) No
3) Do you feel heaviness in your head?
a) Yes b) No
4) Do You Feel Heaviness in your eyes?
a) Yes b) No
5) Do you feel exhausted?
a) Yes b) No
6) Do you usually faint?
a) Yes b) No
7) Do you feel apathetic?
a) Yes b) No
8) Do you feel sleepy or drowsy?
a) Yes b) No
9) Do you feel like there is a burden on your shoulder?
a) Yes b) No
10) How many symptoms do you feel regularly?
a) 1-3 mild
b) 4-6 moderate
c) 7-9 severe

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Table 1 Basic symptoms of Nidra Vega Dharana

VEGA SYMPTOMS CHARAK SHUSHRUT ASHTANG HRIDAYA
Nidra Jrmbha (Yawning) + + +
Angamarda (Malaise) + + +
Tandra (Exhaustion) + + -
Siro Gaurav (Heaviness of Head) + + +
Akashi Gaurav (Heaviness of Eyes) + + +
Moha (Fainting) - - +
Alaska (Apathetic) - - +
RESULT
A clinical survey (105 Night Duty Workers) was carried out by us and found a surprising result. Around
60% of the total sample showed a minimum of 1-3 Lakshana and around 25% showed 4-6 symptoms
given by acharyas in Brihatrayi’s in ayurvedic texts. The result of the systematic clinical survey and data
analysis study is given in table no 2 and 3.

Table 2 Result of clinical survey related to Nidra Veg Dharana

[Link] Symptoms Total No of Healthcare Workers Symptoms Reported by
Enrolled Healthcare Workers Enrolled
1 Yawn 105 55
2 Malaise 105 49
3 Heaviness in Hans 105 55
4 Heaviness in eyes 105 65
5 Exhausted 105 68
6 Faint 105 10
7 Apathetic 105 37
8 Sleep or Drowsy 105 70
9 Burden on their 105 43
shoulder

Table 3 Total Impact of Yoga Nidra Dharana

Total Number of Symptoms Total No of Healthcare Symptoms Reported by Healthcare Workers
experienced
1-3 Workers105Enrolled Enrolled
19
4-6 105 26
7-9 105 61

DISCUSSION
The major effects of shift work occur most probably on sleep, affecting both quality and quantity which
depends on the nature of the night shift i.e. length, frequency, and rest periods in between them as well as
the worker’s personality and behaviours. Due to working on the night shift, workers have to sleep with
the normal rising phase of the circadian rhythm, so, on average, night shift workers get two to four hours
less sleep only. Moreover, night shift workers experience prematurely interrupted sleep with poorer
stage two rapid eye movement sleep, which is perceived as being less restful and may prolong the period
of feeling wakeful. Various epidemiological studies have been carried out over the past ten years,
especially including night shift worker health parameters to demonstrate the effects of night shift work
on health [3]. According to some of these studies, night shift workers majorly experience nervousness,
irritability, and anxiety as the consequences of most stressful working conditions [4, 9]. Due to the
persistent disturbance of the circadian rhythm as well as a growing sleep deficit, prolongs the period of
feeling wakeful with stage two rapid eye movement sleep, and symptomatically experienced as yawn
repeatedly, feeling malaise, heaviness in their heads and eyes with the burden on their shoulders,
sometimes feels sleepy or drowsy, apathetic, exhausted even tend to faint. In the present study, it was
found that around 52.40% of the people do yawing repeatedly in during the night shift as well as daytime
activity. Yawning is characterized as an involuntary process of the body comprising deep breathing to fill
the lungs with air through the mouth. The main reason behind the precise cause of yawning is still un-
cleared but, it’s often viewed as a natural response to being tired. In fact, it is natural to yawn late in the
day as the body gets tired, or perhaps when feeling bored and usually triggered by sleepiness or fatigue
while the excessive yawning may be caused by other health conditions and if excessive yawning occurs as
a result of a poor or inadequate sleep, it may be treated with sleep-aid supplements, such as melatonin, or
other medications, if necessary, and techniques for getting more restful sleep [12, 17]. Malaise is a

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common symptom of a wide-ranging list of ailments especially triggered by inadequate sleep and
indicates a person is ill or about to become ill. It can start slowly with continued night shift work or
appear suddenly due to long-term inadequate sleep which is acute (short-lasting) or chronic (long-
lasting). Malaise describes a general sense of discomfort or feeling unwell and can be an indication of
symptoms of several conditions, both physical and emotional but in the most of the cases generally
treated with changed in the lifestyle factors especially sleep quality and time with routine exercise [14,
32]. The present work also tried to cover term malaise and found that around 46.70% night shift
healthcare workers accepted to feel malaise all the time. Night shift patterns of work have both negative
implications on the individual, as well as those affected by that provision of service; for example negative
implications on patient safety and care in the case of healthcare workers, in addition to significant
economic and productivity costs. The current research also perform to specify the other major concern an
found that 52.4% of night duty workers feel heaviness in their heads, 4- 61.9% feel heaviness in their
eyes, 41% feels a burden on their shoulder, 35.2 % feel apathetic, 66.7% feel sleepy or drowsy, 64.8% feel
exhausted and 9.5% of night duty workers tend to faint (Fig.1-9). The analysis overall impact showed that
around 17.1% of night duty healthcare workers showed a positive of 7-9 symptoms, 24.8% showed a
positive of 4-6 symptoms and 58.1% showed a positive of 1-3 symptoms respectively (Fig.10).

Figure [Link] on night duty workers as Yawn repeatedly

Figure [Link] on night duty workers as feel malaise

Figure 3 Impact on night duty workers as heaviness on their hands

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Figure 4 Impact on night duty workers as heaviness in their eyes

Figure 5 Impact on night duty workers as feel exhausted

Figure 6 Impact on night duty workers as tend to faint

Figure 7Impact on night duty workers as feel apathetic

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Figure 8Impact on night duty workers as feel sleepy or drowsy

Figure 9 Impact on night duty workers as burden in their shoulders

Figure 10 Overall Impact.

CONCLUSION
In this paper, we focus on documenting based on the self-reported questions assessing the prevalence of
Nidra Vega Dharana, especially among healthcare workers intended to measure harmful effects
associated with sleep domains. We conducted a methodological survey to document the variation or
suppression of the urge “Nidra or sleep” in event of symptoms generated with it. The goals of this work
were to identify the prevailing approaches to self-reported symptoms generated by alteration of sleep
duration and/or timing; to document the variation in symptomatic event definition(s). This work should
support major future efforts in order to standardize questions pertaining to sleep quality i.e. duration and
timing and thus enable studies to improve understanding of sleep's role in health and safety. Night shift
working pattern disrupts the body’s circadian rhythms, or internal “clock” that controls sleep-wake
cycles. It increases the risk of developing various neurological conditions, diabetes, heart disease, and
obesity. The researchers are continually evaluating the health effects associated with night shift working.
In this research we have tried to establish correletionship between the Nidra Veg Dhahran and some
specific parameters that hampers normal routine work even may lead to dangerous diseased conditions.

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CITATION OF THIS ARTICLE

P Gupta, K Deshpande and KS Shamrao. Prevalence of Nidra Vega Dharana and its Effects on Night Duty Workers.
Bull. Env. Pharmacol. Life Sci., Vol 12[1] December 2022: 194-201.

BEPLS Vol 12 [1] December 2022 201 | P a g e ©2022 AELS, INDIA