Talking Sleep

In this episode, we review the CPAP technology assessment draft report released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the AASM-led response. Our guest Dr. Susheel Patil highlights key findings of the report, where the Academy and its partners think it falls short, and how it could ultimately move the field forward by setting the stage for future research priorities.

Obstructive sleep apnea affects 40-50% of children with Down syndrome; however, access to care, diagnosis, and treatment of OSA presents many challenges. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Ignacio Tapia, a pediatric sleep specialist whose research aims to increase access to sleep care for special needs’ patients, leverage home sleep apnea tests and improve PAP adherence through programs benefiting patients and their families.

Improving health outcomes and health systems requires new ways of thinking. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Azizi Seixas, an assistant professor in the Departments of Population Health and Psychiatry at NYU Langone and chair of the recent AASM Sleep Medicine Disruptors meeting, about leveraging disruption to be more efficient, develop new solutions and better engage with and care for people in our communities.  

The apnea-hypopnea index is one of the most debated measures of the severity of obstructive sleep apnea. In this episode, we talk with Drs. Daniel Gottlieb and Douglas Kirsch about a new research statement from the Sleep Research Society that explores the strengths and weaknesses of the AHI and considers other measures to determine OSA risk and treatment options.

From AI-assisted scoring to personalized sleep treatments, artificial intelligence has incredible potential in sleep medicine. In this episode, we talk to AASM AI committee members Dr. Anuja Bandyopadhyay and Sam Rusk to learn more about current and future applications of AI, the value to patients, and plans for an AASM certification program to validate and standardize AI scoring software.

Consumer-oriented sleep trackers are increasing in popularity and provide an opportunity to educate users about the importance of healthy sleep, says Dr. Logan Schneider, co-director of the Stanford/VA Alzheimer's Research Center and a tech consultant. In this episode, Dr. Schneider discusses the benefits of sleep tech to consumers and clinicians and his involvement in developing Google’s new sleep tracking device.

In this episode of Talking Sleep, we sit down with Loretta Colvin, APRN, to learn more about the role of advanced practice providers in the sleep medicine practice, how APPs collaborate with physicians to provide patient care, and how to incorporate these valuable team members into a practice to expand services and improve access to care.

Cognitive behavioral therapy should be the first course of treatment in adults with chronic insomnia, according to a recently published AASM clinical practice guideline. This episode features Dr. Jennifer Martin, a clinical psychologist and co-author of the guideline, discussing the effectiveness of CBT-I, and why both physicians and patients should be aware that it’s an option. She also talks about the challenges of sleep during the pandemic, why melatonin isn’t the answer, and why consumer wearables may do more harm than good.

In this episode, we explore how sleep modulates the immune system, affecting our ability to ward off infections and develop antibodies. Our guest is Dr. Aric Prather, a clinical health psychologist and associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco, who has done extensive research on the relationship between sleep and immunity.

Telemedicine is changing the way sleep medicine is taught and practiced. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Barry Fields, a sleep physician at the Atlanta VA Health System and member of the AASM Telemedicine Presidential Committee. He shares AASM telemedicine resources and offers guidance on how to make the most of telemedicine in the clinic and the classroom.