Santa Monica Sleep Disorders Center

We are a full-service center that provides expert clinical evaluations by sleep specialists, sleep testing in our comfortable sleep lab or at the patients home (based on what is most appropriate for each patient), and a wide variety of treatment options for snoring, sleep apnea, sleep walking, restless legs syndrome, dream enactment behavior, narcolepsy, circadian rhythm disorders, and a variety of other sleep ailments.

We treat a variety of sleep disorders. Some common types with brief descriptions are listed below - and more detailed information can be found on the following pages, or by arranging an appointment in our office.



1. Snoring - noise created by vibrations of tissues in the airway, caused by airway narrowing during sleep. This common disorder may cause social embarassment, marital problems, and may signify more serious medical conditions.



2. Obstructive Sleep Apnea - a disorder characterized by repeated episodes of partial or complete narrowing and collapse of the soft tissues of the throat during sleep, causing repeated disuption of sleep accompanied by repetitive drops in oxygen levels in the blood, which may result in increased daytime drowsiness, symptoms of non-restorative sleep, and increased risk for multiple health ailments.



3. Central Sleep Apnea - a disorder characterized by repeated episodes of pauses in breathing during sleep due to periodic lack of breathing effort. This may occur sporadically in healthy individuals, or may be associated with heart disease, neurologic disease, or certain medication use.


4. Complex Sleep Apnea - emergence of central sleep apnea once obstructive sleep apnea has been treated.



5. Insomnia - difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, early morning awakenings, or symptoms of non-restorative sleep. Insomnia may be acute, in reaction to a life stress (i.e. a move, loss of a job, or a family tragedy), or chronic, and is sometimes characterized by racing thoughts and a mind that "won't shut off."



6. Hypersomnias - disorders characterized by excessive daytime somnolence. Patients who suffer from hypersomnias often get drowsy or doze off during the day in passive situations despite what should have been a full night of sleep. Hypersomnias may be due to medications, medical or psychiatric conditions, or may be due to intrinsic sleep disorders such as narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia.



7. Circadian Rhythm Disorders - disorders characterized by a mismatch between the patient's natural body clock and the local time zone. Examples include jet lag, night owls, and early-morning larks.



8. Parasomnias - undesirable physical events during sleep, such as sleep talking, sleepwalking, sleep-related eating, sleep terrors, dream enactment or "REM-behavior disorder", or nightmare disorders.



9. Sleep Related Movement Disorders - Restless legs syndrome, periodic limb twitches during sleep, nighttime leg cramps, and sleep-related tooth grinding.