Skip to main content

About the
Campaign

Sleep is good medicine.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) launched Sleep Is Good Medicine, a national campaign developed for consumers and health care professionals to elevate sleep as the third pillar of health, equivalent with nutrition and exercise. While good nutrition and exercise are often regarded as keys to good health, healthy sleep can be difficult for adults caring for children and parents working long hours and juggling demands on their time. Yet, we know that healthy sleep helps us reap the full benefits of exercise and good nutrition. Increasingly, studies show that sleep also plays an integral role in chronic disease prevention and management.

Sleep Medicine: The Clinical Frontier

Primary care physicians are often the first to hear about symptoms such as poor sleep, daytime fatigue, snoring, insomnia, or difficulty concentrating — making them essential partners in identifying sleep disorders early. As Anita Shelgikar, MD, MHPE, past president of the AASM, has noted, “It’s really important that people at different points in our healthcare system — our colleagues, dentistry, nursing, medicine — that everyone has a recognition and awareness of sleep disorders so that we can best help our mutual patients when they present with sleep-related concerns.” As the field of sleep medicine continues to evolve, collaboration between primary care and sleep specialists will be increasingly important to improve diagnosis, treatment, and long-term outcomes for patients with sleep-related problems. Sleep medicine fellowships are available to physicians in anesthesiology, family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, otolaryngology, pediatrics, and psychiatry, reflecting the growing need for clinicians trained in sleep physiology and the pathophysiology of sleep disorders.

To learn more, visit the Paths to Sleep Medicine page on the American Academy of Sleep Medicine website.

Ask one question. How is your sleep?

The AASM launched the Ask One Question initiative as part of the Sleep Is Good Medicine campaign to help primary care professionals talk to their patients about sleep. During audience research that supported the creation of the campaign, the AASM learned that many primary care professionals are hesitant to initiate conversations about sleep with their patients and want resources to help them address their patients’ sleep concerns. The Ask One Question initiative addresses this need by encouraging primary care professionals to start the sleep conversation by asking their patients one simple question, “How is your sleep?”

Get Resources
Doctor speaking to a patient.

Established in 1975, the AASM is advancing sleep care and enhancing sleep health to improve lives.

As the leading voice in the sleep field, the AASM sets standards and promotes excellence in sleep medicine health care, education, and research.  The AASM has a combined membership of 11,000 accredited member sleep centers and individual members, including physicians, scientists, and other health care professionals.