New Delhi, March 17 (IANS): Thirty-four percent of females and 15.7 percent of college-going students suffer from disturbed sleep, a study has revealed ahead of World Sleep Day on March 18.

According to the study conducted by Cosmos Institute of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences (CIMBS) in Delhi, students with sleep disturbances were also at higher risk of depression, anxiety, emotional and behavioural disturbances as well as alcohol and drug abuse.

"Psychiatrists from across the city are seeing a new trend of sleep disorder amongst children and adolescents and youth, in which the individual sleeps late at night and wakes up late in the morning, leading to Phase Delayed Sleep Disorder," said CIMBS director Sunil Mittal.

He said most of the sleep disorders were preventable or treatable, and stressed the importance of consulting a qualified sleep specialist or psychiatrist for help, rather than self-medicating oneself.

According to medical science, insomnia (inability to sleep) alone affects 8-10 percent of the general population and may lead to increased risk of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, headache, immune deficiency, anxiety, depression, memory problems, road traffic accidents and decreased work performance.

Rajesh Kumar, consultant psychiatrist at CIMBS and member of the World Association of Sleep Medicine, said in the study that there was a need for early detection of childhood anxiety, depression and other emotional problems which can help in the prevention of sleep disturbances like Phase Delayed Sleep Disorder in various age group.