Featured Medical education topic: Top 10 sleep disorders

Approximately one-third of the United States population occasionally report not getting enough sleep. Sleep deprivation is associated with injuries, chronic diseases, mental illnesses, behavioral problems, poor quality of life, impaired driving, motor vehicle accidents, increased healthcare costs, and lost work productivity, which can contribute to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and depression.   Because all physicians encounter patients in their practice with sleep problems, they need to improve their ability to recognize, evaluate, and treat sleep disorders in patients of all ages.  Additionally, they need strategies to improve sleep quality and duration to counsel their patients on tactics to prevent sleep-related symptoms.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this activity, the learners will be able to:

• List the causes of sleepiness in specific patient populations most likely to be encountered in primary care practice as well as by specialists in family medicine, primary care, psychiatry, neurology, pediatrics, and geriatrics medicine
• Discuss the pharmacological management of chronic insomnia disorder and recognize the unique properties of hypnotic agents, cognitive and behavioral strategies for chronic insomnia, and consequences of untreated insomnia
• Identify the unique mechanism of narcolepsy and identify diagnostic and treatment modalities
• Formulate a practical approach for the management of the major sleep disorders in adults, including insomnia, abnormal motor activity during sleep, including restless legs syndrome, and parasomnias such as REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD)
• Discuss the evaluation and management of sleep-disordered breathing

CLICK HERE to download a PDF file featuring information gaps, potential needs, and references for this topic.

If your medical staff needs an update on sleep disorders, consider contacting our office to book a speaker at 877-505-4777 or info@speakersnetwork.com.

References:

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation

https://www.cdc.gov/Sleep/index.html