The focus of Mary and Michael’s webinar ‘The beauty of sleep’ was on sleep difficulties and disorders which affect people with learning disabilities. It incorporated ideas and tips to overcome sleep challenges.
Poor quality sleep can have a significant impact on our physical and mental health. Disordered sleep can also go unrecognised and be misunderstood. In hosting a webinar, Mary and Michael aimed to encourage greater awareness and discussion about this important aspect of life. Mary focused on Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, a sleep disorder that is an issue for many people. It can require specialist support, including the use of non-invasive ventilation for some people.
Next, they focused on the needs of waking night team members. An important part of our social care workforce, these people have a different sleep/wake cycle. Accordingly, they need to adjust their lifestyle and habits to ensure the best quality of sleep during the day, to support people to have a good night’s sleep. Again, top tips were shared for this population of the workforce.
Mary comments: “I found the sleep webinar amazing – I fell asleep…only joking! Seriously, it’s such a fascinating topic – there is loads of information and we didn’t have enough time to cover it all.
“The talk was very well received. There were so many questions from the audience – it was quite a struggle to keep up with replying in the webinar chat.”
If you wish to view the recorded webinar it will be available soon on the LDE website for members. Please consider becoming a member, there are many benefits – Become a member – Learning Disability England.
Conversations about sleep difficulties, disorders and tips to overcome these continue to be a focus for Achieve together. If you have any advice or thoughts you would like to share please contact michael.fullerton@achievetogether.co.uk
Sleep well!
