Sleep Doctors in Phoenix Arizona

Doctors who specialize in sleep medicine treat people who have sleep disorders, or problems related to falling or staying asleep.  Sleep specialist also help people who have difficulty staying awake during the day (called narcolepsy). Some common sleep disorders include insomnia (problems sleeping at night), shift work sleep disorders (sleep problems caused by working during the night and sleeping during the day), circadian sleep disorders (sleep problems caused by imbalances in the body’s biological clock), sleepwalking, snoring, sleep apnea (stopping breathing during sleep), nightmares, and periodic limb movement disorder (disruptive movement of the feet, arms, or legs during sleep).

What does a “sleep doctor” do?
Sleep doctors are trained to assess, diagnose, and treat sleep disorders. Sleep doctors are specialists, who often have a background in other medical fields.  Neurologists, doctors who treat disorders of the nervous system, pulmonologists, doctors who treats disorders of the lungs and respiratory tract, as well as otolaryngologists, a doctor who treats disorders of the ear, nose and throat, often also specialize in sleep medicine.
To gain board certification, a physician must go through specific specialized training in sleep medicine and pass the required exams.
Depending on the doctor’s training and background, different sleep specialist’s can offer varying forms of treatment to people with what are commonly known as sleep disorders, more options for their care, including medications, surgery, oral appliances, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines (machines that blow a stream of air through a special mask) can all be recommended interventions for sleep disorders.

Choosing a neurologist as your sleep doctor?
Sleep doctors that are trained in neurology provide comprehensive expertise with sleep disorders beyond conditions primarily caused by breathing problems (such as snoring or apnea). Neurological illnesses can cause sleep disturbances (e.g., depression, anxiety, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis) and sleep disorders can in turn, exacerbate the symptoms of other neurological illnesses (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity). Therefore, it is often helpful to consult with a medical professional who is an expert in all aspects of the relationship between the brain, the nervous system, and behavior.

What is a sleep study?
During a sleep study, people with sleep disorders are closely observed and monitored with video cameras and special machines that record brain activity, eye movement, breathing rate and rhythm, air flow, and body movement. This type of assessment allows doctors to directly observe the source of problems while a person is actively sleeping or conversely, having difficulty sleeping.

What is a sleep lab?
A sleep lab is a specialized facility designed for sleep studies. Sleep labs are sometimes located in hospitals, but are commonly housed in more patient friendly free-standing sleep clinics or neurological institutes.  Generally speaking, these clinics and labs offer sleep study patients comfortable private rooms, often designed similar in fashion to a luxury hotel room, that is equipped with specialized diagnostic and monitoring equipment that is used through out the study, allowing doctors to test for various conditions while patients are asleep.