Delegate: Dr Kamalesh K Gulia
Affiliation: Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala India
Short Bio: Kamalesh K Gulia is a passionate sleep scientist from India. Her interests are neurophysiology of sleep, onto-genetic development of sleep and its role in cognition, neural plasticity and related aspects; yoga for improving sleep and well being. She has contributed to role of sleep during peri-natal developmental window (sleep deprivation during pregnancy and post-parturition effects in offspring) in shaping cognition and emotional behavior in offspring. She studies herbal products for management of insomnia. She contributed to use of Yoga Nidra as a non-pharmacological intervention to improve quality of sleep and well-being in postmenopausal women. She authored a book titled Sleep Wisdom for Children as Nature’s Symphony that was published in India in April 2022.
Activity: World Sleep Day Celebrations Report
(Total events conducted: Four)
First Event, 16th March 2022: World Sleep Day 2022 was celebrated in the Biomedical Technology Wing campus of the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala, India. On this occasion, Dr Kamalesh K Gulia, In-charge of the Division of Sleep Research welcomed the gathering. Dr Harikrishna Varma, Head of the Biomedical Technology Wing delivered the Inaugural Address and highlighted the importance of quality sleep for health (Pic 1). He emphasized need for technological innovations in management of obstructive apnoea and other sleep disorders. Dr Anilkumar TV, the i/c Head of the Department of Applied Biology gave the Sleep Day message and chaired the later session. He mentioned that World Sleep Day is meticulously organized by Dr Gulia every year. It is an opportunity for everyone to understand more about sleep as it is a basic physiological need, and mentioned that one can enjoy quality sleep by having a disciplined lifestyle.
In the special session named My Sleep, Mr Adil (Technical Staff from Instrumentation Division) and Ms Moon Moon B (PhD student, Division of Microbial Technology) shared their experiences (Pic 1). A few Faculties present also communicated about the sleep quality when they were in college (hostels) and as parents when their kids face health issues. There was keen interest to know how a few leaders claim to excel with mere 4 hours of sleep.
This was followed by 2 special Lectures. The 1st lecture was delivered by Dr Kamalesh K Gulia on topic Sleep quality linked to sound mind and happiness! (Pic 2). She also described the principles of Sleep Hygiene and elucidated Ten Commandments of good sleep for both adults and children in elegant pictorial presentations. The 2nd Lecture was delivered by Er Jithin Krishnan on Present and future of wearable sleep monitoring devices.
Dr Harikrishna Varma, Head of the Biomedical Technology Wing gave away the prizes to the winners of competitions. In the Essay competition, Dr Shiny Velayudhan received 1st prize and Dr Francis B Fernandez obtained 2nd prize (Pics 1,2). In the painting competition, 1st prize was given to Dyutit S Jijo, age 11 years (Son of Mr Jijo PT), 2nd prizes were given to Mr Ammu Krishnan, age 6 years (Daughter of Resmi AN) and Ms Sahana Senthilkumar, age 9 years (Daughter of Dr Senthilkumar), 3rd prize was shared by Mr Roshan Nirmal Bejoy, age 9 years (Son of Dr Remya Bejoy) and Vighnesh Santosh, age 6 years (Son of Dr Manju S). In the cartoon category, 1st prize was given to Adithya Krishnan R, age 13 years (Son of Mr VR Rajesh), 2nd prizes were given to Dyutit S Jijo, age 11 years (Son of Mr Jijo PT) and Mr Hrishikesh A, age 12 years (Son of Dr Anilkumar PR), 3rd prize was given to Mr Ryan Benjamin Bejoy, age 14 years (Son of Dr Remya Bejoy). The World Sleep Day celebration was organized by Division of Sleep Research, Department of Applied Biology, BMT Wing. Ms Jinu Yesudas, Project Staff in the Division of Sleep Research, actively helped in conduction of competitions and compering of the program. Photography was covered by Ms Arsha V (PhD student).
Second Event, 18th March 2022: World Sleep Day 2022 was celebrated in the VTM NSS College, Dhanavanchapuram, Kerala in the online mode. Dr Kamalesh K Gulia, In-charge of the Division of Sleep Research, the Sree Chitra Tirunal Instiute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala, India delivered talk for sleep awareness to young students and Faculty on topic Let’s understand the link between Sleep and Happiness! (Pic 3). Selected artworks of the painting and cartoon competition are shown in Pic 3.
Third Event, 21 March 2022: Dr Kamalesh K Gulia, In-charge of the Division of Sleep Research, the Sree Chitra Tirunal Instiute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala, India delivered online inaugural lecture on Sleep for Good Health and Happiness: Nature’s Samurai! for the Chairman’s Lecture Series organized by the GEMS Arts & Science College, Ramapuram, Malappuram, Kerala (Affiliated to University of Calicut). The talk helped college students and Faculty to understand about critical details of sleep and sleep disorders, and its role in daily effective, happy, productive and healthy life.
Fourth Event, 10 April 2022: Dr Kamalesh K Gulia, author of a book titled Sleep Wisdom for Children as Nature’s Symphony, shared the book with children for bringing awareness about sleep on 10th April 2022 (Pic 3). This cartoon book depicts various aspects of sleep in very lucid story telling fashion in a family setup making it interesting and enjoyable reading for children.
Location: Trivandrum (Kerala) and Gurgaon (Delhi-NCR), India
Date of Activity: 16 March, 18 March, 21 March and 10 April 2022
Submitted by: Kamalesh K Gulia
