BETHEL — “Good Sleep: Working to Keep You Healthy” is the topic of a program to be presented by Dr. Joseph P. DellaValla on Thursday, Oct. 4, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Bethel Congregational Church, Church Street. This program is the first of a series to be presented by To Your Health of Western Mountains Senior College focusing on the theme, “Keeping the Glass Half-full – maximizing our health and happiness as we grow older.”

DellaValla is the medical director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Androscoggin Valley Hospital, Berlin, N.H. and Littleton Regional Hospital, Littleton, N.H. He completed his internal medicine residency at Christiana Care/Medical Center of Delaware in Newark. His additional education included work at the Upper Peninsula Sleep Disorders Center in Iron Mountain, Mich., the Portage Health Sleep Disorders Center in Hancock, Mich., and the Stanford University-affiliated School of Sleep Medicine in Palo Alto, Calif. His undergraduate studies were completed at the University of Scranton, Pa., where he graduated cum laude with degrees in philosophy and biology.

Before coming to New Hampshire two years ago, DellaValla held a position for six years with the Portage Internal Medicine Associates in both sleep medicine and internal medicine capacities. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Medical Association.

The talk will focus on learning the basics of how one sleeps, why sleep is important, how to sleep better and common sleep problems.

According to  DellaValla, sleep medicine includes the evaluation and treatment of a full range of sleep complaints, including not sleeping enough, sleeping too much and things that go wrong while a person is asleep. He said, “By treating sleep problems, we hope to improve the original sleep complaints and also hope to improve the health of patients in ways that are not obviously sleep related.” As an example, he added that the treatment of sleep apnea, which is a disorder of our breathing while we sleep, not only helps people sleep better, but can help control high blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart problems and decrease a person’s chances of stroke.

DellaValla will allow time for questions and will have many handouts available.

All programs are open to the public and admission is free. For more information contact R. Tifft at 824-2053.

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