Experts in sleep medicine from the US, the UK, France, Australia and Sri Lanka will meet in Nagpur next week for a two-day international conference on sleep disorders to share valuable insights on how to sleep better.



Skill enhancing workshops will also be organised during the conference for doctors on polysomnography, pediatric sleep medicine, dental sleep medicine and non-invasive ventilation where experts in the field will guide the participants on "hands-on workstations" to enable them to learn new skills in their field.

The fifth international conference on sleep disorders, under the aegis of South East Asian Academy of Sleep Medicine, is being hosted on October 12-13 by the Department of Respiratory, Critical Care, Sleep Medicine & Interventional Pulmonology at Getwell Hospital & Research Centre at Chitnavis Centre in the city.

"The damage from sleep deficiency can occur in an instant (such as a car crash), or it can harm you over time. For example, ongoing sleep deficiency can raise your risk for some chronic health problems. It also can affect how well you think, react, work, learn, and get along with others," said Rajesh Swarnakar, director and chief pulmonologist at Getwell Hospital.

Sleep medicine deals with management of various sleep disorders from as simple as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea and its effect on diabetes, hypertension, heart problems, parasomnias etc. Sleep medicine has advanced over the years and is being dealt with by respiratory physicians, neurologist, paediatricians, ear-nose-throat specialists, dentists and behaviour therapy specialist.

Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout our life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. Swarnakar is the organising secretary for the conference assisted by Deepak Muthreja, interventional pulmonologist & Anil Sontakke, senior pulmonologist.

International experts coming for the conference are David Cunnington (Australia), Kevin Kaplan (US), Sanchez De La Torre (UK), Larne Ogunyen (UK), Milind Sovani (UK ), Dilip Srinivasan (UK), Lata Casturi (US), Subhash Shanthakumar Heraganahally (Australia), Meeta Singh (US), Anom Sirbaddana, Devang Africawala (France) and Anoma Siribaddana.