- March 17 marks the 25th anniversary of the Sleep Disorders Clinic and coincides with World Sleep Day.
- Since the start of the pandemic, there has been an increase in poor sleep quality among the world population.
- Mexican women sleep less compared to men.
Sleeping is such a simple activity that everyone assumes that they do it well and in reality it is not. The sum of personal and professional concerns, among other reasons, generates a poor sleep quality It is by no means a minor problem but can be the beginning of a large number of diseases and conditions.
A problem that has affected the world for years is the little time that is allocated to sleep. It is a situation that affects especially those who live in large cities. In addition, it is important that people understand that having insomnia can be remedied and that snoring is not synonymous with deep sleep, explained specialists from the UNAM Sleep Disorders Clinic (CTS).
Diseases associated with poor sleep quality
Rafael Santana Miranda, head of the CTS, commented that according to INEGI data we live in a sleep-restricted society. This leads to the development of other problems such as parasomnias and addictions. Bad sleep causes tiredness, drowsiness, symptoms of mental illness, depression and decreased productivity at work, among others.
During the remote press conference “How has sleep been affected by this new reality?”, held on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the CTS, Ulises Jiménez Correa, a specialist in the clinical area, commented that today work must be done to combat the poor sleep quality, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, since one of its main symptoms is insomnia.
Another situation that has become common has to do with alterations in the peripheral nervous system, which causes what is known as Restless Leg Syndrome.
#BoletínUNAM Poor sleep quality affects humanity > https://t.co/6eRfxFb2HI pic.twitter.com/2cZ7mZkmkD
— UNAM Press Room (@SalaPrensaUNAM) March 14, 2023
When taking the floor, the professor of the highly specialized course in comprehensive sleep medicine, Gabriela Millán Rosas, recalled that in the National Health and Nutrition Survey of Medio Camino, carried out in 2016, they asked for the first time how we sleep . The results were that Mexicans do it for less than eight hours, women less compared to men, in addition to a high rate of insomnia and respiratory disorders.
“Not sleeping well makes the patient stressed, anxious and reaches a point where a vicious circle is generated where one thing leads to another. Many times people come to us for a disorder that causes scales of anxiety, depression or poor quality of life”.
25th anniversary of the Sleep Disorders Clinic
The 25th anniversary of the CTS is celebrated on March 17 and coincides with World Sleep Day. With this in mind, Lourdes Galicia Polo, advisor to the technical area, recalled that the Clinic was created thanks to the impulse of university scientist René Drucker Colín, who carried out sleep studies on animals and was interested in helping people with this problem.
At the time, he continued, he proposed to create the largest Sleep Disorders Clinic in Latin America. In 1998, with state-of-the-art equipment, it inaugurated the facilities as a space for the study and treatment of disorders in this area.
During these years, thousands of patients from the Mexican Republic have obtained the services of the Clinic, from newborns to adults. In the confinement due to the health emergency, the Telehealth system was implemented, which allows receiving the attention of professionals.
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