Sleep disorders due to the habit of staying up late

“Many young people, especially Gen Z, spend time at night for entertainment and self-care, causing them to sleep less and less and sleep out of their circadian rhythm,” Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Nhu Vinh, Head of the Sleep Medicine Clinic, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, said at the program. For healthy sleep – improving the quality of community life Co-organized by the Comprehensive Community Health Education Communication Branch, on the afternoon of December 19.

According to Dr. Vinh, adults, especially office workers, do not have difficulty sleeping but often proactively cut down on sleep time because they spend a lot of time during the day and “make up” for personal time at night. This habit shortens sleep, upsets circadian rhythms and leads to many health consequences.

Insufficient sleep or poor quality sleep reduces the ability to concentrate, slows reflexes, and directly affects work efficiency. More worryingly, people with snoring and sleep apnea – common in overweight men – are at risk of falling asleep while driving or operating machinery, leading to traffic accidents and workplace accidents.

Sleep accounts for about 1/3 of life, playing an essential role in the process of restoring energy, consolidating memory and enhancing immunity. Lack of sleep or prolonged sleep disorders not only reduces quality of life but also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, mental disorders and long-term health events. This condition also affects family activities due to fatigue, daytime irritability or prolonged snoring.

“Sleep care for young workers is an important factor in maintaining a healthy, safe working force and improving productivity,” the doctor said.

Sharing the same opinion, Dr. Tran Duc Si, Head of the Sleep Medicine Neurology Clinic, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, said that clinical practice has recorded a clear increase in sleep-related diseases in recent years. In addition to common disorders caused by stress, anxiety, and depression, obstructive sleep apnea is increasingly common.

“Most patients suffer from sleep disorders for a long time but do not realize they have a problem,” Dr. Si said. On the contrary, some people worry too much about the normal physiological changes of sleep.

According to experts, treatment of sleep disorders today does not stop at medication but focuses on a multi-modal approach, individualized according to the cause. Depending on each case, the patient can be treated with medication, CPAP positive pressure ventilation, or simply adjusting lifestyle, sleep hygiene, physical exercise and weight control.

In addition, changing common misconceptions such as “snoring means sleeping well” or “insomnia due to cerebral ischemia” is also emphasized by doctors. Only when properly understood will people proactively take care of their sleep and seek medical attention early when there are unusual signs.