NiSleep clinic to deal with sleep problems in Mangaluru

Sleep is very essential for people's, especially children, wellbeing and survival. Poor sleep affects the mental health of a child leading to problems in attention and behaviour, said Prof Amita Hegde who is serving as Head of Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, A B Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Science (ABMIDS).

“Sleep problems can also affect the physical growth of children. Unfortunately, sleep problems are largely underdiagnosed and underreported in a majority of children," he said.

A Sleep clinic - NiSleep - was inaugurated at Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, A B Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, on World Sleep Day on Tuesday.

Prof Hegde said she, along with Dr Vabitha Shetty, in the past few years had carried out a number of studies on sleep problems in children. They discovered that almost half of the children in the district suffered from sleep problems like restless sleep, sleeping with their mouth open, bedwetting and snoring.

“We have also found that children with obesity have more sleep problems. As there is an increase in the occurrence of sleep problems among children, there is a need for dental and medical practitioners to work in tandem to identify and treat problem as early as possible.”

Nitte University Chancellor Vinaya Hegde and A B Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences Principal Dr U S Krishna Nayak were present.