Half of Turkish people suffer sleeping disorder: Expert

By Zeynep Rakipoglu

ISTANBUL

Fifty percent of the Turkish population suffer from sleeping disorders, according to a Turkish professor.

“Half of our population suffers from sleeping disorders,” Fuat Ozgen, the head of Ankara-based Turkish Sleep Medicine Society, told Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the 19th National Sleep Medicine Congress held in Istanbul.

The five-day congress -- with participation of around 200 health professionals -- aims to discuss the functions of sleeping, breathing and movement disorders during sleep, oversleeping, insomnia as well as sleeping disorders in children.

“Sleep disorders lead to impaired functionality, increased physical or mental illnesses or interruptions during treatment,” Ozgen added.

According to Ozgen, in cases where people do not get enough sleep, they may suffer from problems that may affect their whole body.

“[Sleeping disorder] increases all existing diseases,” he said. “In people who have no illness at all, a number of disorders both physically and mentally occur after a certain period of time.”

Ozgen said that people spend one-third of their life in sleep, and sleeping refreshes people physically and spiritually as well as prepare them for the next day.