What has Speech Pathology got to do with sleep?

“As a speech Pathologist I started to wonder how I could possibly help anyone progress in therapy, before their sleep problems were addressed. Poor sleep interferes with memory, learning, concentration, focus, attention and communication” so I went to many medical dental and science conferences, the more I learned the more I realised that our world is in the grips of a major health epidemic, sleep loss. Sadly, 80% sleep problems are completely missed, dismissed or misdiagnosed.

“… Not only that, there is not one body system that is unaffected, when there are sleep problems, with serious physical and mental health consequences of poor sleep now well known…..” If you look at changes in the body and the brain caused by sleep loss, you see that even our very DNA is affected by poor sleep, yes the activity of 711 genes, leading to poor immunity, slowed growth, obesity, and a host of serious medical disorders over time.

“The same muscles that we use to close the airway for safe swallowing, are those used to keep the airway open at night for healthy breathing during sleep” The research by Brazilian Speech Pathologists showed us that upper airway disorders like sleep apnoea could be reduced by 62% in children and 50% in adults, just by working with the muscles of the mouth face and throat. 

“No matter the cause or severity, sleep problems need to be identified and treated, as early as possible so that every person gets the sleep they need every night to be healthy and happy”.