“What is life? An illusion, a shadow, a fiction, and the greatest good is small: that all life is a dream, and dreams are dreams”. Calderón de la Barca was not misguided when he wrote the most memorable phrases of this work. ‘Life is a dream’ might well be the leitmotif of the sleep medicine specialists who are part of Fesmes, the Spanish Federation of Sleep Medicine Societies. Of course, literally picking up this idea.
For your president, Carlos Javier Egea Santaolalla, The implications of sleep for healthy living are numerous. “Sleep can be a pillar of health not as a disease but to improve overall health”, he indicates. Something that can make not only patients and citizens have more years of quality of life, but also healthy ageing.
An issue that is not trivial and that has already become in a political current. Egea recalls that there are parliamentary initiatives to advance prime time. “There is beginning to be an approximation in all citizens so that they know that sleep is part of their life, just like nutrition or sports. If we do it as we should, it can give great benefits.”
The investigation
Fortunately, research in this field has advanced enormously. Sleep medicine, he assures, has an important impact on pulmonology, due to apneas. In addition, in recent years it has been discovered that there are other disorders in different disciplines. Until very recently, explains Egea, “sleep medicine was considered a medicine esoteric“. From snoring or not, to sleeping well or badly… So far the main ailments. A mid 20th century It is when this area of knowledge begins to develop, which increasingly involves more specialties.
As indicated by the pulmonologist, one of the main areas where research is advancing the most is that of Sleep apnea. Know the Future cerebrovascular, cardiovascular, and morbidity implications is one of the main objectives. In addition, “in terms of sleep, the priority is to better understand sleep and its diseases and reduce their spectrum.”
insomnia and mental health
Currently, one of the current plagues is insomnia. The most worrying thing is that this problem is related to mental health diseases in regarding 50 percent of cases. As the expert indicates, reduce your prevalence and incidence so that the impact on mental health is the minimum possible is a priority.
Other disciplines like neurology, neurophysiology, dentistry, with the creation of devices to improve apnea, otters or pediatrics form part of this area of knowledge. These are precisely the scientific societies that make up Fesmes, which, as its president indicates, is “a place where societies, despite being mature and sovereign, have a meeting point”.
The hospital organization
Aware of the importance of this specialty, in the currently all hospitals and provinces have sleep units who are dedicated to this medicine. In some, the expert clarifies, they are biased by areas; respiratory, neurophysiology, neurology, ENT, pediatrics… But, in general, in the last 12 years an effort has been made to accredit multidisciplinary units. These are areas that are not biased but share the same common space and even in some the same physical space. The objective is that when a patient arrives, they are treated in a multidisciplinary manner and not in the form of a referral. “The unit goes into the patient pathway and that pathway is handled within a special sleep itinerary with the different specialists,” he says.
There are around 60 highly complex units in Spain. In fact, as confirmed by Egea, Spain in terms of structure is one of the best structured countries.
In turn, in terms of training, Fesmes has been accrediting professionals for years. In the same way, he explains, in research, following the United States, the Grupo Español de Sueño is the most relevant in international research and publications in the world.
An award for perseverance
Precisely and in recognition of the perseverance of all these years, the Best in Class (BiC) Awards in its 2022 edition will recognize the Best Sleep Unit. This award has the collaboration of Fesmes y de Philips. “The prize is an award for the perseverance of all those who have been working in sleep medicine for years because it can help patients and citizens”, he assures.
