ABIM Sleep Medicine: Why All Types of Physicians Should Understand How Sleep Impacts Health

Last updated on March 12th, 2025

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Sleep disorders are common, affecting an estimated 50 to 70 million adults in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the 2020 National Health Interview Survey revealed that 8.4% of adults took sleep medication in the last 30 days, every day or most days, to help them fall or stay asleep. The array of sleep disorders ranges from mild to severe cases, and they all can impact overall quality of life.

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) offers a Sleep Medicine Certification Exam for physicians who want to specialize in the science of sleep. To help prepare for that exam, The Pass Machine uses a comprehensive Sleep Medicine Board Course to help physicians ace their board exam. The Sleep Medicine Exam covers a wide range of topics, including the anatomy and physiology of sleep, the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders, and the ethical and legal issues related to sleep medicine.

While sleep medicine is not a new specialty, what is new is the significant number of physicians who are realizing just how critical it is for them to understand sleep medicine, regardless of their current specialty. Regardless of whether a physician seeks certification or takes the sleep medicine board exam, they can benefit from a comprehensive understanding of how sleep impacts the health of their patients.

The Unseen Significance of Sleep in Medicine

In health care, certain aspects of health often take precedence while others seem to remain on the back burner. One overlooked health aspect is sleep, a fundamental pillar of well-being. Because so many adults resort to medication to battle their restlessness, the importance of understanding the science of sleep is evident. It’s critical to explore the essential role of sleep knowledge for physicians across diverse specialties. Using a Sleep Medicine Board Review Course can be a valuable resource for all types of physicians to expand their knowledge in sleep medicine.

Why is Understanding Sleep Medicine Important for All Physicians?

Sleep medicine is an essential and growing field. By understanding sleep medicine, physicians can better diagnose and treat sleep disorders and comorbid conditions to improve the health of their patients. Understanding how sleep deficiencies vary by geographic and demographic characteristics can help prioritize efforts to improve sleep health even further.

Some of the specific reasons why sleep medicine is important for all physicians to understand include the following:

Sleep disorders can often be overlooked, misdiagnosed, or dismissed as unimportant
Sleep disorders are common and can significantly impact a patient’s health
Understanding sleep disorders can help physicians of any specialty diagnose and treat other medical conditions like heart disease, depression, and diabetes
Because sleep disorders are so common, physicians are likely to encounter patients with them in their practices
Sleep medicine is a rapidly growing field, and by understanding sleep science physicians can stay current on the latest research and best practices

The intersection of sleep with mental well-being, cardiovascular health, immune health, and chronic diseases is profound. Sleep isn’t a mere act of rest; it’s a physiological process with far-reaching implications.

When sleep disorders intertwine with other conditions, diagnosis and treatment can become complex. By understanding sleep’s intricate web, physicians can enhance their ability to address underlying issues and improve patient outcomes time after time.

Unraveling the Impact of Sleep Disorders on Diagnosis and Treatment

Sleep disorders can impact the diagnosis and treatment of other seemingly unrelated diseases, conditions, and illnesses in several ways. For example, sleep apnea in adults can mask symptoms of diabetes and heart disease. Sleep deprivation from insomnia can worsen symptoms of conditions like depression and chronic pain. Obstructive sleep apnea in children can lead to negative neurobehavioral outcomes.

Some other examples of ways that sleep disorders can impact the diagnosis and treatment of other illnesses and conditions include the following:

Sleep apnea can make breathing challenging during sleep, leading to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.
Restless leg syndrome (RLS) can cause a patient to have uncontrollable urges to move their legs, making it difficult to fall and stay asleep night after night.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can make it hard for people to focus and concentrate, affecting their ability to work efficiently and learn.
Insomnia can make it seem impossible to fall asleep and stay sleeping, leading to irritability, fatigue, and mood swings.

Consider a patient with depression. Their journey to recovery can be hindered by untreated sleep disorders that exacerbate their depressive symptoms and undermine the efficacy of prescribed medications. Similarly, the pain of chronic pain sufferers can intensify when sleep disturbances enter the picture.

Understanding these dynamics and how they can interplay with comorbidities empowers all physicians to devise more effective care and treatment plans for patients.

Why is it important for physicians to understand how to treat sleep disorders and comorbidities?

Various healthcare professionals treat sleep disorders, from psychiatrists to sleep specialists to primary care physicians, and they all must understand how to treat them correctly because they often co-exist with other medical conditions.

To illustrate, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is often treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. However, that therapy can be difficult to tolerate, and some patients may still need medication to help them fall and stay asleep because of the CPAP treatment.

Likewise, insomnia is often treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This therapy helps patients identify and change the thoughts and behaviors that contribute to their sleep issues. CBT is also often used to treat other issues as well, like substance use disorders, depression, marital problems, and anxiety, among others.

Because sleep disorders often co-exist with other illnesses and issues, physicians from various medical specialties must work together to create an effective holistic treatment plan for each patient, which may involve coordinating care with psychiatrists, sleep specialists, and other professionals.

ABIM Sleep Medicine Certification Exam

What’s on the exam?

The ABIM Sleep Medicine Certification Exam covers a wide range of topics, and it’s critical that physicians study each of them appropriately and effectively to earn top marks. Some of the categories on the Sleep Medicine Boards include:

The anatomy and physiology of sleep
The diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders
The ethical and legal issues related to sleep medicine
The impact of sleep disorders on other medical conditions

Some of the specific topics covered on the Sleep Medicine Boards include:

Sleep-related movements like bruxism, leg cramps, and RLS
Sleep-related breathing disorders like OSA and central sleep apnea syndromes
Sleep in other disorders like neurological, psychiatric, and gastrointestinal disorders
Instrumentation and testing
Central disorders of hypersomnia
Effects of sleep deprivation
Sleep-wake mechanisms

The Sleep Medicine Board Exam is divided into two parts. Part 1 covers the basic science of sleep, and Part 2 covers the clinical aspects of sleep medicine. The exam is composed of about 240 single-best-answer multiple-choice questions, most of which relate to patient situations and the work done by physicians in their care.

The exam is designed to gauge the sleep medicine proficiency of physicians and spans the entirety of the specialty. By testing these areas, the exam process ensures that physicians possess a comprehensive understanding to apply their knowledge in real-world clinical scenarios.

How to prepare for the exam

The best way to prepare for the sleep medicine boards is to start studying early. Our EXACT exam prep accelerator tool is a free resource to help create a customized study schedule to help you prepare for the Sleep Medicine Board Exam. It delivers recommended study times for each topic based on the exam blueprint. These weekly recommendations exist so registrants don’t risk failure by studying some topics too much and others too little.

Getting enough sleep in preparation for the exam is key, and practicing good study habits is crucial. Here are some general tips for preparing for the sleep medicine board exam:

Start studying far in advance
Take practice exams
Create a study schedule and stick to it
Make sleep a priority
Eat healthy and exercise
Review your notes regularly
Learn what to focus on and what to breeze over when studying

Achieving success on the sleep medicine exam demands a well-structured approach, given the extensive coverage of the content. Physicians should utilize the ABIM exam tutorial and the API sleep medicine board review course to bolster their comprehension and knowledge base.

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A live Q&A session with Dr. Raj Dasgupta on Oct. 5, 2023
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In addition, The Pass Machine offers an expansive repository of relevant blog posts for additional exam preparation tips. Including:

Awakening to the Significance of Sleep Medicine

In a world where medical landscapes constantly evolve, the role of sleep medicine continues to burgeon. The ability to decipher sleep’s impact on health extends beyond a luxury; it’s a responsibility. By understanding sleep disorders, physicians of all medical specialties can revolutionize patient care, even if they don’t seek ABIM certification in sleep medicine.

By participating in The Pass Machine’s Sleep Medicine Board Review Course, physicians can advance their careers and enhance their patients’ overall well-being. Register now for our comprehensive sleep medicine board review and maximize your success on the ABIM Sleep Medicine Board Exam.