educational achievement
Dr. Ahmed Salem Bahamam, Consultant Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, confirmed that sleep disorders have a great impact on students'' educational achievement. As sleep is one of the basic components for the normal functioning of the various functions of the human body, and the lack of sleep leads to an imbalance in the body’s physiology and many of its vital functions.
He added that many researchers and educators believe that sleep disturbance and lack of sleep lead to a lack of educational attainment and good performance, but unfortunately, the studies and research that have focused on this topic are very few, and most of them paid attention to university students and secondary school students, and some studies have shown that educational achievement For students who snore or suffer less respiratory problems during sleep than their healthy peers, and that the academic performance of students improves among those who snore after treatment. "
This came in conjunction with the start of the new academic year, when the Ministry of Health, within the awareness program (My Health, My School), hosted Dr. Ahmed Salem Bahamam, a consultant of chest diseases and sleep medicine, through the Information and Health Awareness Center at the Ministry of Health and through the toll-free number 8002494444 and the Ministry of Health website at Twitter @saudimoh To answer callers'' questions regarding the importance of sleep, its disturbances, circadian rhythm disturbance, and the extent of problems that occur as a result of anxiety and tension in the first period of the beginning of the new school year.
Dr. Bahamam pointed out that "sleep medicine is one of the well-known specialties in the world of medicine, but its importance has not been properly appreciated by medical professionals or others, although a person spends about a third of his life asleep, but the majority do not know much about sleep, and it is unfortunate that There is a widespread belief that sleep is an inactivity in the body''s physical and mental functions that a person needs to renew his activity, but the scientifically proven reality is completely otherwise, as during sleep many complex activities occur at the level of the brain and body in general, not as some believe, but on On the contrary, some functions are more active during sleep, and some diseases occur only during sleep, and disappear with the awakening of the patient, and this information and scientific facts are considered recent in the age of time, as some medical references have not dealt with them yet.
Dr. Bahamam pointed out that "every person has what is known as the vital clock that regulates bedtime, the time of feeling hungry, changes in the level of hormones and temperature in the body, and the biological and psychological changes that follow the vital clock cycle in 24 hours are known in the daily rhythm, in childhood and before the arrival of adolescence." The vital clock leads children to sleep at 8-9 pm, but with the entry of puberty and the entry of adolescence, this process changes for some, and for some they do not feel sleep until 11 pm or later. Friends increase the problem or cause it to appear clearly. "
He added, "In another way, the vital clock can be defined as the body''s ability to switch from sleeping at certain hours (usually at night) to waking up and being active in other hours (usually the time of the day)." He said: "Several external factors, the most important of which are light and noise, control the maintenance of discipline. The daily rhythm of the body or its vital hours, "explaining that this is accompanied by a change in a large number of body functions that may be more active during the day than at night, and the secretion of the sleep hormone (melatonin) increases at night and decreases during the day, but when people with this disorder, things are reversed. Exposure to light also reduces the level of sleep hormone in the blood. Whereas, the sleep hormone is secreted by the pineal gland in the brain and is linked to the optic nerve Therefore, exposure to intense light reduces hormone secretion. "
Dr. Bahamam concluded that "snoring is a common disease that affects about 30 percent of adults, and it is an annoying sound that occurs during breathing (usually inhalation) during sleep as a result of the narrowing of the airway due to enlarged soft tissues in the throat or defects in the nose, and many people take it on the fly. It is a subject of ridicule, scarcity and caricatures, but everyone should realize that snoring may be a symptom of a serious disease known as obstructive sleep apnea, and in the event that the patient suffers from this disease, there is certainly no room for scorn and ridicule, and the patient must see a specialist doctor to confirm the diagnosis of the disease, And then treat it if necessary. "
