25
AASM Membership Sections Newsletter
■
Issue #6
Sleep Deprivation
Steering Committee
Profiles
Ana Krieger, MD
(Chair)
Dr. Ana Krieger, MD,
Chair
, is an
Associate Professor in the Depart-
ments of Medicine, Neurology and
Genetic Medicine at the Weill Cornell
Medical College of Cornell University.
As a clinician scientist, she has been
involved in clinical and translational
research in sleep medicine for the
past 16 years. In collaboration with
colleagues at Rockefeller University,
Dr. Krieger and her team currently
work on circadian rhythm research,
along with multiple other multidisci-
plinary projects in sleep medicine. Dr.
Krieger is a Fellow of the American
Academy of Sleep Medicine, the
American College of Chest Physi-
cians and the New York Academy of
Medicine and the Royal Society of
Medicine, as well as a Robert Wood
Johnson Scholar.
Francine James, PhD
(Vice Chair)
Dr. Francine James, PhD,
Vice-Chair
,
is serving in her fourth year as Vice-
Chair of the Sleep Deprivation section.
Dr. James is an Associate Scientist at
the Institutes for Behavior Resourc-
es Inc., an independent, non-profit
research organization in Baltimore,
MD. Dr. James’ work within the Oper-
ational and Fatigue Research Division
focuses on studies of human sleep,
performance and circadian rhythms in
the occupational context and includes
the use of biomathematical modeling.
2014 – 2015
CHAIR
Ana Krieger, MD
VICE-CHAIR
Francine James, PhD
MEMBERS
Mikhail Bochkarev, MD, PhD
Mathias Basner, MD, PhD
Abid Malik, MD
A Message from the Sleep Deprivation Section Steering
Committee
One of our main goals for the SD Committee in 2014-15 is to enhance the communication
with AASMmembers. In order to facilitate participation on committee activities at the SLEEP
2015 conference and throughout the year, we have created an email contact for our group,
and are reactivating our
discussion group
at the Academy’s website.
The research in Sleep Deprivation keeps expanding every year as we better understand
the interrelation between adequate sleep physiology and health. In keeping with the AASM
interests in exploring the health and socio-economic impacts of sleep deprivation, we invite the
Academy members to participate in our Committee activities. Several examples highlight the
importance of adequate sleep in our society, including the recent discussions regarding school
start time in children, as reviewed by the Pediatric Committee, which discusses the effects of
inadequate sleep on performance in children when school start times are not aligned with
their physiological sleep pattern. Similar findings can be readily seen in the workplace, with
an increasing number of the population being subjected to chronic partial sleep deprivation,
associated with prolonged work hours and shift work in many instances. A recent publication
on this field highlights the interplay between sleep and performance in astronauts during space
missions, demonstrating that both chronic sleep restriction and sleep medication use are prev-
alent conditions during both short duration Space Shuttle missions and up to 180 day Inter-
national Space Station (ISS) missions (Barger LK, Flynn-Evans EE, Kubey A, et al. Prevalence
of sleep deficiency and hypnotic use among astronauts before, during and after spaceflight: an
observational study. Lancet Neurology, 2014; 13: 904–12). This suggests that neurobehavioral
performance in astronauts may be impaired in space due to chronic sleep restriction, with pos-
sible consequences for mission safety and success.
It is useful for us to extrapolate those findings to our daily routine and work towards improv-
ing sleep for our patients.
We invite all members of the AASM to engage in our discussions at the
discussion group
and
actively participate in tailoring the topics to be discussed at upcoming meetings by reaching out
to the SD committee either by email or through our
discussion group
. We are looking forward to
seeing you all at the SLEEP 2015 meeting in Seattle.
Recent Articles Regarding Sleep Deprivation Effects
By Dr. Abid Malik, MD
Sahlem
1
and colleagues showed in a small but interesting pilot study that combined total
sleep deprivation (Wake Therapy), sleep phase advance and bright light therapy (Triple Chro-
notherapy) rapidly improves mood and suicidality.
DISCLAIMER
No part of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
(AASM). The statements and opinions contained in editorials and articles in this newsletter are solely those of the authors
and not of the AASM or of its officers, members or employees. The Editor and Managing Editor of the Membership
Sections Newsletter, the AASM and its officers, members and employees disclaim all responsibility for any injury to
persons or property resulting from any ideas, products or services referred to in articles in this publication.
