Handbook of Sleep Disorders PDF

Preface

This handbook would not exist without the excellent contributions of the talented group of international authors; their detailed and comprehensive works are greatly appreciated. I am deeply indebted to the renowned and true pioneers of the field of sleep, William Dement, Christian Guilleminault, Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Chris Gillin, and Allan Rechtschaffen, who served as my mentors through various stages of my career. In all of my endeavors, I can always count on my parents, Samiko and Hiroshi Kushida, to assist me; this book was no exception. This book is dedicated not only to my parents but also to the marvelous team of the Apnea Positive Pressure Long-Term Efficacy Study (APPLES), sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). I have been very fortunate, along with Dr. Dement, to serve as principal investigator of APPLES; our team consists of Pamela Hyde, Deborah Nichols, Eileen Leary, Tyson Holmes, Dan Bloch, as well as NHLBI (Michael Twery and Gail Weinmann), site directors, coordinators, consultants, committee members, key Stanford site personnel (Chia-Yu Cardell, Rhonda Wong, Pete Silva, and Jennifer Blair), data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) members, and other personnel without whom this project could not have functioned in such a meticulous and efficient manner.

It is my sincere hope that the reader will strive to become an expert in the field of sleep. Although there is always room for improvement, awareness of sleep disorders by patients, physicians, and the general public is at an all-time high. However, available funding for sleep research and the number of young investigators interested in a career in basic or clinical sleep research are areas that need enhancement. The interested reader can directly contribute to the field in several ways by applying for membership in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (www.aasmnet.org) or the Sleep Research Society (www.sleepresearchsociety.org), serving on committees in these organizations, becoming board certified in sleep medicine, submitting a sleep-related grant proposal to the NIH, and/or simply learning more about sleep and its disorders. Lastly, I'll never forget a sticker posted on the door of Mary Carskadon's former office at Stanford that contained words to live by: "Be alert. The world needs more lerts."