Advancing Care, Research & Education
The sleep health team is comprised of faculty from the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and the Department of Neurology. Learn more about our programs below.
Helping You Get the Rest You Need
Feeling tired or exhausted after a busy week is common, but poor sleep is a serious health concern. It can even indicate an underlying medical issue. If you snore heavily, can’t get a good night’s sleep, experience sleepiness during waking hours, or have insomnia that lasts more than two weeks, you may have a sleep disorder.
Sleep medicine focuses on diagnosing and treating sleep disorders. Treating sleep disorders can improve alertness, quality of life, and reduce risk of heart disease, stroke, and other health conditions.
Our Sleep Specialists
If you need help improving your sleep quality, the sleep specialists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) can help. The Sleep Disorders Center at BIDMC is one of the largest academic sleep centers in New England and the first to be accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine in Massachusetts.
Our faculty is comprised of board-certified sleep medicine physicians and skilled nurse practitioners from the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and the Department of Neurology.
In addition, we are an academic medical center and train four to five sleep medicine fellows per year who are directly integrated into our patient care. At some of our clinics, you may be seen by both a fellow and a senior physician.
Conditions We Treat
Sleep disorders affect the quality and amount of sleep you get at night. They can also affect your physical and mental health. Our experts can treat the following sleep conditions:
- Sleep-related breathing disorders
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Central sleep apnea
- Complex sleep apnea
- Nocturnal hypoventilation
- Obesity hypoventilation syndrome
- Insomnia (trouble falling asleep or staying asleep)
- Circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders
- Advanced sleep phase syndrome
- Delayed sleep phase syndrome
- Non-24-hour sleep phase syndrome
- Shift work sleep disorder
- Restless leg syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movement disorders
- Parasomnias (unusual behaviors during sleep)
- Isolated sleep paralysis
- Nightmare disorder
- Night terrors
- Nocturnal epilepsy
- REM behavior disorder
- Sleepwalking
- Sleep-related eating disorder
- Hypersomnia disorders (excessive sleepiness disorders)
- Narcolepsy types I and II
- Idiopathic hypersomnia
- Kleine-Levin Syndrome
Symptoms of Sleep Disorders
The symptoms of a sleep disorder can vary depending on the disorder. Common symptoms of sleep disorders include:
- Feeling tired during the day
- Irregular breathing during sleep
- Irritability
- Lack of concentration
- Snoring or gasping for air during sleep
- Taking frequent naps during the day
- Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
If you are experiencing sleep disorder symptoms that are impacting your quality of life, ask your primary care provider for a referral. Then, call the Sleep Disorders Center to make an appointment with one of our board-certified sleep specialists. We offer a variety of treatments for sleep disorders, including standard and innovative therapies to treat even the most complex conditions.
Request an Appointment
To request an appointment at the Sleep Disorders Center, please ask your provider for a referral. Depending on your referral, you may be seen by a pulmonologist or a neurologist. If you're not sure who to schedule with, you can make an appointment with any of our providers and we'll refer you internally.
If you’d like to schedule an appointment directly, please call the Sleep Disorders Center at 617-667-3237 or fill out our online form.
For referring providers, learn how to refer patients to the Sleep Disorders Center.
