Our last meeting was a gathering of members and partners from the Werribee and Laverton Point Cook Rotary clubs held at the Phoenix Hotel. Our thanks to President Tim Fuller and his club for being warm hosts.
The first guest speaker was Rebecca who is a mobile sleep therapist. She has set up a business called A Good Nights Sleep which assists people who are suffering from sleep deprivation. Rebecca's point of difference from other similar businesses is that she makes house calls. This enables her to get a better understanding of the specific problems that the person is experiencing. It also helps to lessen the anxiety of those who have a sleep disorder.
Rebecca explained that there are a number of stages in the sleep cycle. The first stage is light sleep. This is followed by a longer second stage where eye movement and brain activity slows. After that, there is the deep sleep stage where the brain waves are extremely slow and there is no eye movement or muscle activity.
Sleep quality is on the decline for a number of reasons:
- Busy life styles
- Dependency and overuse of electronic devices
- Use of medications
- Late consumption of caffeine, alcohol or food
- Stressful or strenuous activity in the evening
- Too much time spent in bed and not sleeping
There are several sleep conditions which adversely affect one's ability to get a good sleep:
- Snoring - Vibrations in air waves resulting in a loud sound and disrupted sleep
- Sleep Apnea - Recurrent breaks in breathing resulting in compromised sleep and oxygen loss
- Insomnia - Difficulty in falling or staying asleep
Rebecca advised that there are many different avenues to explore to find a solution to your sleeping problems.
- Sleep therapy
- Sleep clinic
- Sleep doctor
- Sleep lab
- Ear, nose and throat surgery
- Dentist (mouth guard)
- Laser clinic