Sleep without borders - Breaking the boundaries between sleep medicine and sleep health promotion

Insufficient sleep refers to not getting the recommended amount of sleep for optimal functioning, even if it's just slightly less than needed. Sleep insufficiency may occur due to lifestyle choices, such as staying up late for social events or work, resulting in routinely getting less sleep than required. For example, consistently sleeping 6 hours when the body needs 7-9 hours can lead to cumulative effects on health and well-being.
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...

Substance use disorders involve a pattern of using drugs more extensively than intended and continuing use despite harmful consequences. This includes legal substances like alcohol and nicotine, as well as illegal drugs. These disorders often involve both physical and psychological dependence, reflecting compulsive use of substances that significantly alter thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, contributing to a major public health issue.
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...

Sleep is an essential physiological process vital to maintaining overall well-being. The reticular activating system (RAS), a network of neurons in the brainstem, regulates wakefulness and sleep. While it may seem passive, sleep consists of distinct cycles, each with its unique characteristics and functions. Two key sleep phases are non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and  rapid eye movement (REM).
NREM Sleep
NREM sleep comprises four progressive stages that seamlessly merge:

Health promotion allows a person to control the determinants of health, resulting in an improved health status. It enhances the quality of life and reduces premature deaths. Health promotion and illness prevention programs help people make beneficial choices to reduce the risk of disease and disabilities. There are three health promotion and illness prevention levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...

Somnambulism, commonly known as sleepwalking, involves individuals engaging in activities ranging from simple walking to more complex behaviors such as driving. Sleepwalking typically occurs during the slow-wave sleep stages 3 and 4 early in the night when the person is not dreaming, contradicting the myth that sleepwalkers are acting out their dreams.
Factors that increase the likelihood of sleepwalking include sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption. Contrary to common beliefs, it is safe...

Sleep, an essential biological state, involves significant reductions in physical activity, sensory awareness, and interaction with the environment. This complex physiological process is primarily regulated by specific brain regions, notably the hypothalamus and pons, which govern the sleep-wake cycle or circadian rhythm.
The circadian rhythm, a nearly 24-hour cycle, is deeply influenced by environmental light cues. Light exposure directly affects the hypothalamus, which in turn regulates...