AAST’s Certification in Clinical Sleep Health (CCSH) Designated Education Program is designed for health professionals who work directly with sleep medicine patients, families and other health care practitioners to coordinate and manage patient care and improve outcomes. As part of the program, AAST will be hosting a CCSH workshop June 25-26 in which attendees will experience an individualized, instructor-led learning experience with robust discussions.
career in sleep | member spotlight
Kevin Adley, RPSGT, CCSH, is the director of business development at DrLullaby and currently serves on AAST’s Educational Advisory Committee. AAST recently spoke with Adley on his career path in sleep, what excites him about the future of the industry and more.
Access tools and resources related to earning your CCSH credential and sign up to receive updates from AAST.
sleep apnea | obstructive sleep apnea | snoring
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the most common type of sleep apnea, can be a serious sleep disorder, as breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. Caused by throat muscles intermittently relaxing and blocking the airway, it can impair a patient's ability to reach desired deep and restful phases of sleep.
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that makes it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep and/or return to sleep after waking. Insomnia can be chronic or acute, meaning long-term or short-term, and often comes and goes over time. Depending on its severity, insomnia can lead to health complications and lifestyle disruptions.
As nicotine is a stimulant, it is no surprise that its consumption, especially close to bedtime can disturb sleep. Nicotine attaches to nicotinic cholinergic receptors (NAChRs), which triggers the release of feel-good neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine, glutamate and gamma aminobutyric acid — making it both stimulating and addictive.
Start School Later Initiative | COVID-19 | adolescent sleep
It would be an understatement to say that schools, teachers and students have been under immense stress during COVID-19 — turning on a dime to online learning, experiencing isolation and facing a lack of educational support and personal protective equipment (PPE) have only been a few of the challenges. However, recent research shows that increased adolescent sleep duration has proven to be a silver lining thanks to school closures that occurred at the start of the pandemic. Around the world, school closures and schedule changes in response to COVID-19 have also proven that schools are capable of changing their schedules — for the benefit of public health — which means that delaying school start times is possible.
AAST recognizes individual members for their professional excellence, service and commitment to the association and to the sleep technology profession with the AAST Awards. Learn more about the awards and the 2021 winners below.
AAST Fellows | AAST Fellows Program
The AAST Fellow Program is a means of recognizing those who have made significant and sustained contributions to the field of sleep technology. Fellowship recipients must be credentialed in sleep technology by a nationally recognized organization for at least 15 years and have been a regular AAST member, in good standing, for the last 10 consecutive years.
sports-related concussions | baseline testing
While more research and testing are needed to show the correlation between lack of sleep and sports-related concussions (SRCs), as noted in part one of the Sleep and Sports-Related Concussion series, baseline concussion tests on athletes can help identify the effects of post-concussion syndrome and sleep disturbances.
