To mark World Sleep Day on March 21, Beijing Tongren Hospital, one of the most popular general hospitals in Beijing, held a forum on March 19 to deliver health knowledge on sleep to the public.

The forum invited renowned medical experts in related fields to deliver speeches on their studies, to alert the public to the health risks of sleep disorders and tell people how to seek help if they have sleep problems.

The experts included Phyllis Zee, Professor of Neurology with Northwest University Feinberg School of Medicine; Danny Eckert, an active sleep and respiratory physiology researcher at Neuroscience Research Australia; and Ye Jingying, the director of the Sleep Medicine Center at Beijing Tongren Hospital.

Sleep is one of the most important bases for good health and sleep deprivation, as well as poor sleep quality, can pose negative health effects, such as increasing risks of high blood pressure, causing heart problems and leading to a higher possibility of car accidents, according to Ye.

While snoring is not necessarily a health problem, many people are not aware that loud and disruptive snoring may signal sleep apnea, a potentially life threatening sleep disorder, which is characterized with breathing pauses or shallow and frequent breathing during sleep, experts said.

The disorder decreases the level of blood oxygen saturation, leads to less elasticity in blood vessel walls and raises the risks of many conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.

Zee, the neurologist, said preliminary studies also show sleep apnea can cause problems during pregnancy — pregnant women suffering from the disorder, especially during the third trimester, have two to three times’ higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and premature delivery.

Hundreds of medical students and laypeople attended the forum, and sought advice on good sleep from the experts.

Healthy diet habits, a reasonable bedtime and adequate exposure to sunshine are the basic things required if one wants to have quality sleep, Ye said.