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Winchester Hospital Sleep Disorders Center Offers Free Program About Women’s Sleep Disorders
Winchester, Mass. – According to the National Sleep Foundation, up to 70 million Americans aren’t getting a good night’s sleep due to sleep disorders. In addition to causing excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep disorders have been linked to medical conditions including diabetes, hypertension, stroke and heart disease.
According to Dr. Najmuddin Patwa, medical director of Winchester Hospital’s Sleep Disorders Center which is located in Woburn, gauging the severity of a sleep disorder is difficult until it is appropriately evaluated. It has been estimated, however, that fewer than 20 percent of those with sleep disorders have ever initiated a discussion about the problem with a physician.
While sleep disorders affect both genders, women in particular face multiple issues affecting their quality of sleep – and general health and sense of well-being – from the onset of menses through pregnancy and menopause. Sixty-three percent of women are likely to experience insomnia, compared to 54 percent of men. Twenty-six percent of women have trouble sleeping at least once a week, versus 16 percent of men. Twenty percent of women experience daytime sleepiness, compared to 13 percent of men. And while sleep apnea is more common in men, it affects one in four women over 65.
Dr. Patwa will be available to answer questions regarding sleep disorders facing women throughout their lifetime at an A.W.A.K.E. (Alert, Well And Keeping Energetic) session on Monday, June 15 from 6 to 9 p.m. The event will be held down the hall from the entrance to the Sleep Disorders Center, in the first floor Keating Conference Room of Baldwin Park I, 12 Alfred St. in Woburn.
The workshop is designed to increase awareness of sleep disorders and related health concerns. Sleep disorder patients are encouraged to bring CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) machines, nasal masks and other sleep disorder aides for testing and evaluation. Tours of the Winchester Hospital Sleep Disorders Center will be available and refreshments will be provided.
“It’s important for people with sleep apnea and all other sleep disorders to discuss these problems with their health care providers,” said Dr. Patwa, a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine. “Because our sleep time occupies one-third of our lives, its impact is significant.”
Accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the Winchester Hospital Sleep Disorders Center diagnoses and treats all sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, narcolepsy, parasomnia, chronic insomnia, circadian rhythm abnormalities, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Periodic Limb Movement Disorder and Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).
To learn more or make an appointment at the Winchester Hospital Sleep Disorders Center in Woburn, call (781) 756-2325. All insurance plans are accepted.
About Winchester Hospital
Winchester Hospital is the first community hospital in Massachusetts to earn Magnet recognition, the American Nurses Association’s highest honor for nursing excellence. As the northwest suburban Boston area’s leading provider of comprehensive health care services, the 229-bed facility provides care in orthopedics, general and vascular surgery, pediatrics, cardiology, pulmonary medicine, oncology, gastroenterology, rehabilitation, radiation oncology, pain management, obstetrics/gynecology and a Level IIB Special Care Nursery. Winchester Hospital has clinical affiliations with several nationally recognized hospitals in the region, including Children’s Hospital Boston, Tufts Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. To learn more, visit www.winchesterhospital.org. |
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