The annual World Sleep Day webinar hosted by Gregory Arneaud, founder and Clinical Director of iSD Health Solutions, saw Jamaica’s participation for the first time on Friday (March 15).

This event’s second staging marked a significant milestone, as Arneaud—American board-certified respiratory therapist and author of ‘The Wake Up Call‘—served as Jamaica’s first World Sleep Day delegate.

The webinar featured special guest speaker, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton.

World Sleep Day is a call to action on important socio-economic issues related to sleep. In addition to Arneaud and Tufton, the line-up of speakers also included experts from around the Caribbean and India. 

This year’s theme, ‘Sleep Equity for Global Health,’ breaks down the many measurable differences regarding sleep health that persist around the world. These issues result in strains on the public and private healthcare systems, ultimately perpetuating health disparities. 

Conversation on the topic

In the Caribbean region, general public knowledge and conversation on the topic of sleep is extremely limited, particularly as it relates to how sleep impacts our lives and how lack of sleep plays a role in the spread of non-communicable diseases, which are especially prevalent throughout the region. The webinar explored topics such as ‘Impact of Sleep on Athletic Performance‘, ‘The Importance of Sleep in Managing Stress and Burnout‘, ‘Women’s Health and Sleep‘, and ‘Diabetes and Sleep‘. 

In endorsing Arneaud’s mission to spread awareness of the importance of sleep, Minister Tufton shared that his advocacy is rooted in his personal experience with Sleep Apnea, existing data and research, and his eight years served as Jamaica’s Health and Wellness Minister. Dr. Tufton implored Jamaicans to not think of sleep as an insignificant daily need, or lack of sleep as a badge of honour, but instead to learn about and prioritise proper sleep health as a way to secure true health and wellness. 

Tufton’s first-hand experience

For Tufton, “I have a personal perspective beyond my policy perspective as minister, having first-hand experience with sleep apnea. I do utilise a machine because of this sleep disorder.  My different symptoms and the scenarios I went through led me to get checked out and do the various tests which determined my diagnosis. This personal experience puts into perspective for me the importance of sleep and rest.” 

He explained, “beyond that, serving as Minister of Health in Jamaica over the last eight years, we have sought to broaden the concept of health to incorporate wellness. This was done to emphasise that as part of health care solutions, a much broader spectrum of the holistic approach to good health is needed. That holistic approach must involve sleep and rest as critical components of wellness and this is why this is becoming and will become a more dominant part of our health and wellness agenda. 

Through championing the recognition of World Sleep Day in Jamaica, Arneaud hopes to continue raising awareness and expanding access to sleep solutions for Jamaicans and the wider Caribbean.

“My passion for sleep stems from personal experiences. I lost my grandmother after spending years watching her go through various health issues like dementia, glaucoma and high blood pressure. Learning that those issues have a direct connection with untreated sleep apnea is what fueled my desire to make a change for my people in the Caribbean in particular,”Arneaud said.

He opined, “ This is truly a pandemic when you consider the [number] of people worldwide who are suffering from this disorder, and what makes it even worse is that 90 per cent of these people are undiagnosed and untreated. My mission is to bring awareness, expertise and solutions to our Caribbean people, to be able to equip them to take control of their sleep, thus taking control of their health and their lives.” 

Hope for the Caribbean region 

Arneaud continued by sharing his hope for the Caribbean region, starting with takeaways from his webinar adding, “through our efforts, we are equipping Caribbean people with information, tools, support and solutions related to sleep health”.

“How you sleep truly is how you live, and change begins with knowledge. My goal is and will always be to raise awareness on the importance of sleep, the uncanny prevalence of sleeping disorders like sleep apnea and insomnia, and the ways in which sleep impacts our health and can contribute to the management of common ailments that have been plaguing our region. In addition to awareness, providing access to sleep healthcare to my Caribbean counterparts is at the heart of what we do at iSD Health Solutions.”

Guest speakers included renowned doctors from St. Lucia, Trinidad and India – Dr Andrew Dhanoo – clinical biochemist and researcher, president at the Diabetes Association of Trinidad and Tobago; Dr Tanya Destang-Beaubrun – CEO/director at the Rodney Bay Medical Centre, owner of the Satya Centre for Functional and Integrative Medicine; and Dr Monika Sharma – behavioural sleep medicine specialist, founder of Sleep Moksha, the first behavioural sleep medicine clinic in India.