Good sleep for better health

MANILA, Philippines - While many problems in sleeping are commonly attributable to aging, it may not be the case anymore, according to the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM).

In a global press release, WASM says that in a research, “approximately 50 percent of older adults report difficulty sleeping. But sleep problems in older adults are less a result of aging itself and more related to other conditions that may accompany aging.”

These conditions include respiratory disorders, changes in sleep cycles or rhythms, medical and psychiatric illness, and increased medicine use.

Thus, these conditions may result in sleeping disturbances that would eventually lead to “less quality of life, depression and anxiety, slower reaction time, memory problems, issues with balance and vision increasing risk of falls, and even death,” WASM says.

This explains why in this year’s celebration of “World Sleep Day,” an annual event that focuses on the celebration of sleep and a call to action versus important sleep-related issues, WASM chose the theme “Good Sleep, Healthy Aging” to elicit attention on common sleep disturbances among older adults.

“Getting a good night’s sleep is possible at any age — and it is vitally important for overall health,” according to WASM.

Just like in the rest of the world, many Filipinos also suffer from sleep problems. Their conditions or sleep complaints are no different from Americans, French, Germans, or even the Chinese, Japanese, Indians or Indonesians.

That is why in the Philippines, Uratex, the brand known for making quality foams and mattresses, continues its advocacy in helping Filipinos get that good sleep by coming up with superior bed products.

As part of the celebration of World Sleep Day 2013, Uratex will support a major sleep symposium mounted by the Philippine Society of Sleep Medicine.

Prior to the event, two sleep medicine specialists — Dr. Teofilo Lee-Chiong Jr. and Dr. Deborah Bernardo — were introduced by Uratex in a press briefing.

Lee-Chiong is a professor of medicine at the National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado, USA and has authored or edited several books on sleep medicine and pulmonary medicine.

He is the chief medical liaison at Philips Respironics and is a member of various sleep associations in the United States. He graduated from the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center.

Bernardo, also a graduate of the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, is a fellow of the Philippine College of Physicians, Philippine Neurological Association and the Philippine Society of Sleep Medicine.

She trained in sleep medicine at the National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado and is now the head of the Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center and chief of the Neurology Section of St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.

Together, the two sleep experts will talk about how Filipinos can get their good night sleep plus other ways to achieve good sleep regardless of their age and benefit from it in order to live healthy lives.

For more information on superior bed products and other sleep solutions provided by Uratex, visit www.uratex.com.ph or call its consumer hotline at 888-6800.