Sleep Disorders in Selected Psychiatric Settings

According to research, more than 50% of patients seen in psychiatric clinics have sleep problems. Despite this fact, there is a lack of sleep medicine training in psychiatric residency programs especially for disorders like insomnia and sleep-related problems in women and children. Also, there is a lack of education on treating sleep problems in special situations like ICU settings or managing sleep problems via telemedicine. Sleep physicians, on the other hand, are uncomfortable treating patients with the psychiatric disorders, particularly in this demographic. Pediatricians are also not trained to work with children suffering from sleep disturbances or psychiatric disorders. They often struggle to correctly identify a particular disorder and lack confidence to adequately treat and manage these issues. In total, there are only about 250 clinicians trained in both sleep medicine and psychiatry, despite the millions of patients who could benefit from both disciplines.