Sleep Initiatives
Increased Access to Care
Patients, providers and the public, benefit from increased access to care for patients with sleep disorders. Barriers to adequate sleep care may include:
- Bringing down the out-of-pocket cost of sleep care for patients
- Addressing inadequate or lack of insurance coverage for sleep services
- Increasing the availability of sleep services and culturally competent care
Improving awareness of sleep disorders and sleep medicine will open the lines of communication between providers and patients by empowering people with a sleep disorder to bring sleep issues to their primary care or other physician and encouraging primary care physicians and other providers to incorporate sleep health into everyday practice.
Funding for Sleep Research
New and/or improved testing and treatment options for patients come from increased research in the sleep field. Funding for research, such as through the National Institutes of Health, is important to further innovations in sleep medicine that will benefit patients.
Drowsy Driving
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, 1 in 5 fatal crashes involve a drowsy driver. Drowsy driving, like drunk or distracted driving, affects everyone on the road. Regulations regarding drowsy driving are either non-existent or inconsistent in states that do have regulations in place, as there is currently no way to accurately measure drowsiness (such as a Breathalyzer for drunk driving). Learn more about the importance of staying “Awake at the Wheel.”
Later School Start Times
It is the position of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine that middle school and high school start times should be 8:30 a.m. or later. Delaying school start times gives teens a better opportunity to get the sleep they need during the school week. Getting sufficient sleep on a regular basis leads to improved academic performance, reduced school absences and tardiness, and decreased motor vehicle accidents. School start times are generally decided at the local and state level. Learn more about teen sleep on the “Sleep Recharges You” page. Get more information about school start times from Start School Later.
Telemedicine
Telemedicine provides a pathway to care for many individuals who do not have immediate access to sleep care. In many ways, sleep medicine is already technology-driven. From testing to treatment, technology is integral in the provision of quality sleep care.
Telemedicine can be used to improve the patient’s experience in all areas of sleep care: Consulting with a sleep specialist via a secure video chat; receiving testing results online; participating in cognitive behavioral therapy in your own home; or discussing CPAP mask issues with a sleep technologist. Telemedicine opens the world of sleep medicine to individuals who cannot access it through traditional means and makes life easier for all sleep patients.
Daylight Saving Time
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports the elimination of daylight saving time. An abundance of evidence indicates that the transition from standard time to daylight saving time in the spring increases public health and safety risks. These include an increased risk of heart problems, mood disorders, and motor vehicle crashes. Daylight saving time is less aligned with human circadian biology. It is the position of the AASM that these seasonal time changes should be abolished in favor of a fixed, national, year-round standard time.
If there is an issue not included above affecting the sleep community, please contact us at [email protected].