Business View Magazine - April 2016 13
Sleep debt is a global problem
While the occasional sleepless night can be frustrat-
ing and inconvenient, people who consistently suffer
from inadequate sleep can experience poor academic
or work performance. According to a 2015 Philips Res-
pironics survey that surveyed people in 10 countries,
96 percent said sleep was valuable to them and 87
percent ranked sleep as an influence on their overall
health and wellbeing; however of those surveyed, only
17 percent consistently slept through the night.
“Sleep impacts everything we do, and it’s no secret
that we’re not getting the recommended eight hours,”
said Dr. Teofilo Lee-Chiong, M.D., Royal Philips’ Chief
Medical Liaison. “While it’s one thing to recognize lack
of sleep as an issue, it’s another to take active steps to
get a better night’s sleep. With this website, we hope
to engage the average person in thinking about how
sleep contributes to their overall health and wellbe-
ing.”
For those struggling to sleep at night,
SendMeToSleep.com provides:
“Relaxing” Content to Encourage Sleep: Whether it is
a baby falling asleep, a video of white noise, people
yawning, or the classic standby of a sheep hopping a
fence, SendMeToSleep.com features a variety of visu-
al content to help inspire slumber.
Helpful Tips for Sleeping Soundly: The site features
tips to help individuals get their sleep back on track,
including advice, insight on how the world sleeps dif-
ferently, foods that assist with a good night’s sleep,
and keys to help with snoring.
Resources to Help Identify Underlying Conditions: The
site also provides articles, quizzes, and other resourc-
es for individuals to help them on their way to a good
night’s sleep.
When it is more than a restless night
More than 100 million people, globally, suffer from
obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Chronic sleep or re-
spiratory conditions can have devastating effects if
not treated or diagnosed, and it is estimated that 80
percent of patients with OSA remain undiagnosed,
which can impact long-term health by turning sleep or
breathing into a burden.
“Based on our long history in sleep therapy innovation,
we know that it can be hard for OSA patients to stick
with therapy, but the first challenge is getting them
diagnosed,” said Mark Aloia, senior director of global
clinical research of Philips. “There are a substantial
amount of people that have classic signs of OSA, but
still remain undiagnosed, and a lot of the time it is be-
cause they don’t know that their restlessness at night
isn’t normal.”
