Restonic, a leading bedding brand in South Africa, is proud to announce the launch of the Restonic Ezintsha Sleep Clinic in Johannesburg. The first facility of its kind in South Africa, the clinic combines Restonic’s mission of enabling wellbeing and success through the power of sleep with the research capabilities of Ezintsha, the multidisciplinary research centre that specialises in advancing research in HIV and non-communicable disease, including sleep and related health issues, with a focus on finding innovative solutions and improving healthcare outcomes for South Africa.
Dr Alison Bentley, medical doctor at the Restonic Ezintsha Sleep Clinic, has been seeing patients with sleep problems for the last 30 years and ran the first diagnostic sleep laboratory in South Africa from 1990 to 1998. She explains that the clinic will fulfil three key functions: clinical, research and training.
“Sleep touches every area of medicine and remains under-researched in South Africa,” says Dr Bentley. “The Restonic Ezintsha Sleep Clinic will service patients with sleep problems as a centre of excellence for sleep analysis, as well as improving local sleep research and training other doctors on diagnosing and treating sleep disorders, and the interplay of sleep with other health conditions.”
Clinical offering
The clinic offers four overnight sleep rooms for patients with a sleep problem who have been referred by their doctor for sleep analysis, including a dedicated bedroom for sleep studies focusing on children. Patients are also able to book a consultation to discuss their sleep issues with a doctor who understands and has training in the sleep field.
“In future, the Restonic Ezintsha Sleep Clinic hopes to offer lectures and group treatment options for the public on topics ranging from snoring to sleep apnoea and insomnia,” says Dr Bentley.
Research capabilities
Dr Nomathemba Chandiwana, Director and Principal Scientist at Ezintsha Research Centre, says the sleep clinic is also perfectly placed to undertake large-scale research projects to gather more and better data.
“There is currently very little known about how sleep impacts other medical disorders in the South African population,” she says. “We believe we have an opportunity to explore how sleep potentially affects other major healthcare concerns in the country, such as HIV, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The clinic will allow us to research and explore alternatives to the current expensive treatments for sleep disorders, such as CPAP for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), as the cost of these treatments limit their use and accessibility.”
Local research into sleep disorders could therefore help to improve public health outcomes and even positively benefit the economy.
Training for medical professionals
The Restonic Ezintsha Sleep Clinic is also an ideal environment to train doctors in the broad field of sleep medicine. “Given the prevalence of sleep disorders and their effects on other medical disorders, it is essential that most doctors are exposed and trained on these problems,” says Dr Bentley.
Doctors residing in Johannesburg are able to attend in-person case presentations, while those further afield can attend remote video call discussions or arrange to visit us for a week or more. The Sunnyside Hotel is conveniently located adjacent to the clinic, allowing for residential visits.
Bed and mattress showroom
In addition to the clinical, research and training facilities on offer, the Restonic Ezintsha Sleep Clinic offers a comprehensive Restonic showroom. Dale Harley, Executive: Restonic Marketing, explains that patients, medical professionals and visitors are able to view a select range of Restonic beds and mattresses.
Finding the right bed can help to improve comfort, proper spinal alignment, and quality sleep, particularly for those with specific needs, such as back or body pain, Harley explains.
“We can help with information on bedding and comfort terminology, explaining various mattress and bedding innovations and technologies and suggesting bed options to meet specific preferences and requirements,” he says.
For more information, visit https://restonicsa.co.za/ezinthsa-sleep-clinic/.
