By Dr. Kiran Varma
In my practice, I see a range of issues caused by issues with sleep and with a lack of quality sleep.
While it can be useful to quantify sleep in terms of number of hours, it is perhaps more important to discuss quality of sleep.
A question I ask my patients to find out about their sleep quality is, “do you feel refreshed in the morning?” An astounding proportion of replies I get indicate the high number of people living daily with ‘sleep dysfunction’ and ‘sleep disordered breathing’.
Do you snore in your sleep?
Do you grind your teeth or suffer from a tender jaw?
Do you have difficulty falling or staying asleep?
And…once again, do you truly, feel refreshed in the morning?
The reflective questions above might reveal an issue with sleep.
Sleep is intrinsically linked to a series of other medical conditions including weight gain, blood pressure issues, diabetes, cardiac issues and mental health issues.
Speak to your health professional to learn more about what a good night sleep can do for your health and well-being.