Research & Education

In addition to provision of optimal patient care, central missions of the UM Sleep Disorders Center are to advance research and education in sleep medicine. Since its founding in 1985, Center faculty have made significant contributions to knowledge about sleep and its disorders. Faculty, fellows, and trainees have published work on sleepiness, its measurement, insomnia, snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, other forms of sleep-disordered breathing, restless legs syndrome, periodic leg movements during sleep, REM sleep behavior disorder, sleep in patients with epilepsy, effects of asthma on sleep, interactions between sleep and immunity, hormones and sleep, cognitive problems associated with sleep disorders, behavioral effects of sleep disorders, effects of alcohol on sleep, sleep laboratory methods, questionnaires used to screen for sleep disorders, and many other topics. Investigators at UM have studied sleep in people of all ages, from childhood through older age. Through the UM Center for Sleep Science, the clinical Sleep Disorders Center members also collaborate with some of the nation's leading scientists dedicated to basic research on how the brain produces sleep, and on critical interactions between sleep and breathing, pain, immunity, inflammation, and memory. Finally, the UM Sleep and Chronophysiology Laboratory supports highly productive research programs on sleep, circadian rhythms, and depression.

Sleep Disorders Center faculty run one of the oldest and largest Sleep Medicine Fellowships in the world. Accredited for many years by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and now by the American Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the one-year training program offers hands-on experience with all Sleep Disorders Center functions. Supported by a wealth of clinical opportunities, didactic and interactive conferences, sleep courses, and research programs, the competitive fellowship attracts top applicants from a wide variety of background disciplines. Some fellows continue their training with one or more years focused on sleep research. The Sleep Disorders Center also plays active roles in the sleep education of residents and medical students, and of graduate students and undergraduates who enroll in an annual course, directed by Drs. Ralph Lydic and Helen Baghdoyan, on basic, medical, and societal aspects of sleep.