CRI听力:Top US sleep specialist seeking China collaboration

A top American sleep specialist has said he's eager to work with researchers in China to develop treatments for people with sleep problems.

Doctor Timothy Morgenthaler is the Co-Director of the Center for Sleep Medicine with the US Mayo Clinic.

"There are great needs to be met for sleep medicine in the United States as they are here in China. In order to answer that need, we've been working on training up specialists in sleep medicine. So I think that working together, we can make diagnosis and treatment simpler. I think we can make a difference in people's lives; I think we can do all of these a lot better and a lot faster by working together."

Timothy Morgenthaler was speaking at a forum held over the weekend in Beijing, ahead of the World Sleep Day, which falls on March 21st each year.

His call for cooperation with China comes after he discovered both countries suffered huge economic losses from inadequate health care for their citizens suffering from sleep disorders.

"How much does untreated obstructive sleep syndromes actually cost in the US annually? And it comes to be about 150 billion dollars annually. Although the costs for obstructive sleep problems may be slightly different between the US and China, I suspect that the costs of untreated sleep problem in China are probably three times that much."
 

The Chinese Sleep Research Society marked this year's World Sleep Day on Saturday, with the theme "Sleep Soundly, and keep away from coronary diseases."

A forum held by the Chinese Sleep Research Society was being held in Beijing on Saturday, March 18, 2017. The forum aims to mark World Sleep Day, with a theme dedicated to "Sleep Soundly, and keep away from coronary diseases."

The latest statistics shows the risk of hypertension in patients with sleep disorders is three to four times higher than those of ordinary people.