AASM Membership Sections Newsletter Issue #3
10
American Academy
of Sleep Medicine
psychological therapies. Many
of these services are located in
other departments, which can
be inefficient and communica-
tion between departments can be
difficult. We will discuss how to
more seamlessly work together
to provide treatment for insom-
nia within the context of vary-
ing mental health and somatic
disciplines and different practice
environments.
Future Directions for
Insomnia Research
Deirdre A. Conroy, PhD
The expansion of our knowledge
about the disorder of insomnia
and the effectiveness of available
treatments rely on the continued
progress of research studies. In
the United States, the national
institutes supporting insomnia
research have recently included:
The Heart, Lung, and Blood Insti-
tute (NHLBI), Institute on Aging
(
NIA), Institute of Mental Health
(
NIMH), the Cancer Institute
(
NCI), the Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases (NIAID),
the Institute of Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal and Skin Dis-
eases (NIAMS), and the Center
for Complementary and Alterna-
tive Medicine (NCCAM). Private
foundations also support insom-
nia research. In the next genera-
tion of insomnia research, we
may learn more about the etiol-
ogy of insomnia through studies
focused on biomarkers, the role
of predisposing and precipitating
factors of insomnia over time,
and how attention biases play a
role in insomnia. Intervention
research may include the results
of later phases of clinical trials
of novel sleep medications, the
use of melatonin in insomnia,
the mechanisms underlying the
effectiveness of CBTI, the utility
of CBT for insomnia in adoles-
cent and geriatric populations,
treating insomnia with comorbid
medical disorders, psychiatric
disorders (e.g. depression), and
CBTI in individuals suffering
from cancer. Novel treatment
delivery modalities are also on
the horizon with internet or tele-
phone interventions. Alternative
non-pharmacological treatments
are also a hot topic in research,
such as cooling devices for the
brain, acupuncture, mindfulness
meditation, and yoga. Late break-
ing research is always presented
at the annual SLEEP conference,
so visit the insomnia posters and
oral presentations to learn more.
We look forward to seeing you
at our section meeting on June 4
th
in Baltimore, MD!
Avenues between Insomnia and
Other Medical and Psychiatric
Disorders continued