Somnology is the science and research of sleep.
A somnologist is a sleep doctor specializing in disorders and irregularities related to sleep.
Luis Alvarez / Getty Images
What Kind of Doctors Treat Sleep Disorders?
Luis Alvarez / Getty Images
What Is a Sleep Center?
This information helps providers develop a treatment plan for their patients.
Sleep centers are helpful because somnologists can study patients sleep disorders in a controlled environment throughout the night.
Sleep latency is the amount of time a person takes to go from fully awake to completely asleep.
This test can help measure daytime sleepiness to see if there are underlying physiological conditions affecting sleep quality.
This jot down of test uses a combination of polysomnography and MSLT to measure sleep latency.
The MWT is calculated the following day.
When Should You See a Somnologist?
Some sleep disorder symptoms may include:
How Do You Find a Somnologist?
In many cases, your primary healthcare provider can refer you to a somnologist in your area.
The most common sleep study is a PSG.
A PSG is a painless and noninvasive diagnostic test.
Summary
A somnologist specializes in disorders related to sleep.
This information helps healthcare providers develop a treatment plan for their patients.
Doctors who treat sleep disorders must have a significant amount of training and research before treating patients.
Talk to your healthcare provider to see if a referral to a somnologist is the right step for you.
American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Sleep medicine: your dream job!.
American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Sleep psychology profiles.
Rundo JV, Downey R 3rd.Polysomnography.Handb Clin Neurol.
2019;160:381-392. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-64032-1.00025-4
Arand DL, Bonnet MH.The multiple sleep latency test.Handb Clin Neurol.
2019;160:393-403. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-64032-1.00026-6
American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Maintenance of wakefulness test.
National Sleep Foundation.Not sleeping well?
It might be time to see a healthcare provider.
Zia S, Fields BG.Sleep telemedicine: an emerging field’s latest frontier.Chest.
2016;149(6):1556-1565. doi:10.1016/j.chest.2016.02.670
Northwestern Medicine.Polysomnogram.