ResMed advises women to get a good night's sleep

SAN DIEGO - As has happened before with illnesses such as heart disease, the impact of poor sleep on women has only recently been getting attention from researchers and sleep therapy stakeholders.

Of course, like men, women themselves may be partially to blame when it comes to the lack of attention they pay to their sleep patterns. For example, a recent survey by ResMed, a manufacturer and distributor of sleep therapy equipment and treatments, found that while 49% of women age 40-65 wish they got better sleep, only 19% think that getting quality sleep is the health improvement they most need to make.

That gap in awareness is one reason ResMed recently launched an education program designed to raise women's awareness of the importance of a good night's sleep.

“We launched the Better Sleep For Women program to help women understand that quality sleep is a critical pillar of health, essential not only to everyday well-being, but also to mitigating potentially serious health issues,” said Chaz Abbott, ResMed global corporate communications manager.

ResMed began promoting the program in October through the launch of BetterSleepForWomen.com, an informational website designed to help women realize that poor quality sleep is not something that they need to suffer through.

“Men and women tend to present symptoms of sleep issues differently, resulting in a longer path to diagnosis of treatable issues such as sleep apnea,” said Abbott said. “For example, while it is commonly understood that snoring is a symptom of sleep apnea in men, women may not recognize that their snoring also may be a symptom.”

The goal of the campaign is to motivate women to have more productive conversations regarding sleep with their healthcare providers, he said.

“We want women to feel comfortable starting a conversation with their primary care physicians or (ob-gyns) to help determine when poor quality sleep is the root cause of other health issues,” said Abbott.

In addition to the education campaign, ResMed recently introduced a new FDA-cleared device,

the AirSense 10 AutoSet for Her, that contains a dedicated algorithm designed to treat

mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea in female patients.