[Good Brain 2024] "Healthy Sleep Protects Brain Health"

The '2024 Good Brain Conference' hosted by Asia Economy was held on the morning of the 11th at The Plaza Hotel in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. The event, themed 'Sleep, Brain Health, and Digital Tech,' was attended by leading domestic brain experts and authorities in the field of sleep science, who emphasized the importance of sleep for maintaining brain health in modern people and shared the current status of research and development by the medical community and meditech companies to maintain healthy sleep habits.

Woo Byung-hyun, CEO of Asia Economy, is delivering the opening remarks at the "2024 Good Brain Conference" held on the 11th at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

In modern society, maintaining healthy sleep to prevent brain aging and sustain a stable psychological state in daily life is very important. According to the National Health Insurance Service, the number of patients who received hospital treatment for insomnia or sleep disorders in Korea increased sharply by 28.5%, from 855,025 in 2018 to 1,098,819 in 2022. Including patients who do not visit hospitals, it is estimated that about 20% of the population has experienced sleep disorders.

Lack of sleep or poor sleep quality disrupts the biological rhythm, reducing the activity of immune cells and affecting the secretion of melatonin hormone during sleep, thereby impairing immune function. This impacts bodily functions, causing difficulties in daily life, and in severe cases, leads to decreased brain function, accelerated aging, and serious brain diseases such as depression and dementia. For students, it causes learning disabilities; for workers, it lowers work efficiency; and it also increases social costs by causing traffic accidents, safety accidents, and various industrial disasters.

On the 11th, at the Diamond Hall of The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, key guests and speakers are taking a commemorative photo at the '2024 Good Brain Conference' hosted by Asia Economy. From the left: Shin Beom-su, Editor-in-Chief of Asia Economy; Hong Yoon-hee, Head of Public Relations at the National Health Insurance Service; Kang Seok-yeon, Director of the Seoul Regional Office of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety; Woo Byung-hyun, CEO of Asia Economy; Lee Ki-il, 1st Vice Minister of Health and Welfare; Cha Soon-do, President of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute; Kim Seok-ju, Chairman of the Korean Society of Sleep Medicine; Choi Jong-min, Executive Director at Samsung Electronics; Lee Dong-heon, CEO of A-Sleep. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Lee Ki-il, the 1st Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, explained, "To live a healthy life, preventing brain aging and maintaining stable mental activity are very important both personally and socially," adding, "Sleep is important not only for learning and memory abilities but also for physical health, and it is closely related to the prevention and delay of dementia." He further stated, "I expect today's event to be a meaningful opportunity to reconsider the importance of sleep and brain health and to share and discuss ways to create a healthy life in the era of longevity."

Cha Soon-do, President of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, said, "Together with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, we are conducting various studies to maintain brain health by responding to clinical demands in the field of brain diseases, developing technologies for the causes, prevention, and treatment of dementia, and digital therapeutic technologies such as electronic medicine," introducing that "through this, Korea's technological level related to brain health has improved by 7.5% in the dementia field and by 25.3% in circulatory system diseases such as cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction over the past decade compared to advanced countries."

Woo Byung-hyun, CEO of Asia Economy and the event organizer, said, "This year's event aims to review the progress of medicine, brain science, and digital technology to solve sleep problems and to present directions for academia, science and technology, and industry," adding, "Through the knowledge sharing and passionate discussions of the attending experts, it will be an opportunity to advance sleep and brain science to the next level."

The conference begins with a keynote speech by Kim Seok-ju, Chairman of the Korean Sleep Medicine Society (Professor of Psychiatry at Samsung Seoul Hospital), followed by lectures from Lee Yoo-jin, Director of the Sleep Medicine Center at Seoul National University Hospital; Lee Dong-heon, CEO of A-Sleep; Lee Seul-gi, CEO of D&D Pharmatech; and Kim Kyung-il, Professor of Psychology at Ajou University. Additionally, panel discussions will be held with Kang Jae-heon, President of the Korean Digital Therapeutics Society; Song Jae-jun, CEO of NewLive; Kang Sung-ji, CEO of Welt; Kim Hang-rae, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Rowan; and Choi Jong-min, Executive Director at Samsung Electronics, sharing diverse opinions on the development status, potential, and policy support of digital devices that correct sleep habits and restore brain health.