Media Planet Sleep Health Campaign 2020

13 March 2020  |  Kath Hope

Compared to when our charity began back in 2009, it's really encouraging now to see how the importance of good sleep is finally being recognised, even when people don't have an actual sleep disorder, and this 2020 Sleep Health campaign we worked on with Media Planet  featured exclusive content from key thought leaders and industry voices about best practice to improve and maintain healthy sleep. 

June Rymer, one of our volunteers, shared her story and we have no doubt that this will help many others recognise they're having similar struggles to June with their own health due to undiagnosed Sleep Apnoea, and of course like June and those of us with sleep apnoea, will gain better health and quality of life once treated - and with no snoring!

June Rymer's Story - Patient with Sleep Apnoea

Snoring would cause June to stop breathing 15-30 times an hour. It took depression to set in until she finally took action…

June was sharing a room with her cousin and daughter who, as well as struggling to sleep through the noise of June’s snoring, were shocked to notice that, in between snores – she stopped breathing.

June’s husband had mentioned this previously but, not realising the seriousness of untreated sleep apnoea, she ignored the warnings. It was only when her life took a downward spiral and depression set in that she knew a GP appointment was necessary.

Thanks to June’s GP, she was diagnosed and treated for sleep apnoea

Fortunately for June, her GP spotted the symptoms of sleep apnoea and, before prescribing anti-depressants, referred her to the sleep and respiratory clinic at her local hospital for a home-sleep study. June was shocked to receive a diagnosis of moderate sleep apnoea (moderate means the person stops breathing 15-30 times per hour), and she certainly wasn’t looking forward to sleeping with a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine and mask, which is the gold-standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea.

I started to get back my love for life – the lack of energy that I presumed was just a part of ageing actually returned.

To June’s relief, her depression began to lift

After just a few nights of using the CPAP machine, June’s mood began to lift and her other symptoms of untreated sleep apnoea disappeared – snoring, morning headaches and the sleep disturbances caused by sweating, nightmares and occasional choking.

“Even the recurrent throat infections I’d previously suffered from stopped,” says June, “I started to get back my love for life – the lack of energy that I presumed was just a part of ageing actually returned.”

 

Untreated sleep apnoea is linked to heart attacks and strokes

As a result of her life-changing diagnosis, June now regularly volunteers at Hope2Sleep’s support and awareness events, where we provide free advice and a sense of community. June believes that good support is vital for anyone who must sleep every night with a mask.

June would now never consider sleeping without her CPAP therapy, and risk all those old symptoms coming back. She hopes that, by reading her story, anyone who snores – or has been told that they stop breathing during sleep – won’t ignore the signs like she did. This is especially important as June now knows that untreated sleep apnoea can increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes as well as many other medical conditions.

Find out more about Sleep Apnoea on this page of our charity's website:- Sleep Apnoea Signs and Symptoms

To read the full Sleep Health Campaign regarding several important issues around sleep, including mental health, the dentist's role, mindfulness, sleep hygiene, common sleep myths and more then head over to the Health Awareness website......