News & Announcements
Good Leaders Know How to Lead and How To Follow
By Edwin M Valladares, MS, RPSGT “Good leaders know how to lead and how to follow.” Not many books are written on this aspect of leadership, but it’s a foundational principle. In a world where leaders are interrupting industries, it is challenging to see how this...
Leadership for Technical Professionals
By Edwin M Valladares, MS, RPSGT I’ve heard many techs assume they will get into management positions by shear desire and seniority. However, the fact is that it takes ability to lead and manage a team, group, lab, clinic or company. To develop ability, we all need...
Diagnosing REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
Can we continue to diagnose REM sleep behavior disorder the way we do? By Emmanuel During, MD Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine Stanford University Few topics in sleep medicine have in the recent years gained as much attention and scientific insights...
Nasal Issues and Adherence
By: Robyn Woidtke, RN, RPSGT As plain as the nose on your face; or is it? In addition to being quite an interesting physical attribute of the human anatomy, the role of the nose is a significant component when considering initiation and on-going adherence to treatment...
A Call to Action: Sleep Disorder Awareness for the Next Generation
By Edwin M. Valladares, MS, RPSGT University of Southern California, USC Sleep Disorders Center This past Christmas, activity tracking companies made a push towards ensuring future business from the next generation by selling kid friendly activity trackers. Among...
The Integrity of the Sleep Medicine Field
I would just like to start out this month’s blog post by telling everyone just how proud I am to be a Sleep Technologist! When I run into Trader Joe’s on my way home from work, I always proudly correct the cashier, “No, I’m not a nurse, I am a sleep tech,” even though...
Recap of the 11th Annual Educational Symposium
By Rafael Pelayo The California Sleep Society ("CSS") celebrated its 11th Annual Meeting at the end of September. We welcomed over 300 participants to sunny San Diego for the two-day event. We thank our membership’s support for making this meeting a great success. ...
Dreaming
By: William Hart, MD, FAASM Dreams are a personal and difficult (if not impossible) experience to measure and interpret. For some, dreams are ghost-like impressions of the passage through each night’s sleep. Others will be very detailed about a dreaming...
Sleep Hygiene: The dirty secret that keeps us awake
Mohammad Shahnawaz Khan, BA, RPSGT, CCSH Over sixty million Americans suffer from sleep related issues. This consists of a wide array of different sleep disorders, including insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and more. Sleep hygiene, a phrase that has been used often...
From Sleep Technologist to Device Regulatory Science
Author: Edwin M. Valladares, M.S., RPSGT, RST Manager, Keck Medical Center of USC, USC Sleep Disorders Center Lecturer, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Div. of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Co-Coordinator, USC Center for Sleep Health Using Bioengineering...
COVID-19: A Message from the Board of Directors
Dear California Sleep Society Members and Colleagues: As we navigate these uncharted health and economic times, the CSS Board of Directors convened an emergency meeting to assess the COVID-19 circumstances. As always, our patients are our top priority. The BOD has...
Why You Should Attend the Sleep Conference this Year
By: By Patrick Moday, BBA, RPSGT, RST, CCSH I started working in sleep clinical research while in college and would attend pharmaceutical conferences every 3-4 months. The meetings were about pharmaceutical medications for sleep-related conditions. There were cool...
Polysomnographic Technologist – (California Center for Sleep Disorders, California Bay Area – FT and PT Nights)
Company Name: California Center for Sleep Disorders Job Title: Polysomnographic Technologist, Night, Full-time and Part-time We are hiring! Join our Team: California Center for Sleep Disorders is seeking a night Polysomnographic Technologist to join our amazing...
A Brief Overview on Sleep Health and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
By: Robyn Woidtke, RN, RPSGT Why should we care about and recognize polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in sleep health? This “very” brief overview is aimed to answer some of those questions. Additionally, an objective would be to create an interest in reaching out...
Irregular Sleep Pattern and Mood
By: Joshua Roland, MD, FAASM It is fairly intuitive that mood and sleep have a bidirectional relationship. When we sleep poorly, we are more likely to not be in our best disposition and have a compromised emotional threshold the following day. We also know anxiety,...
Sleep Technician – (Granger Medical Clinic, Sleep and Lung Department – West Jordan and Murray, UT – FT Nights)
Company Name: Granger Medical Clinic Job Title: Sleep Technician Granger Medical Clinic was founded in 1954 by Doctors LaVere Poulsen and Glenn Wilson. The two providers came together with the hope of better serving the Granger community (now West Valley City) on the...
A Sleep Tech’s Firsthand Experience with COVID
By: Edwin M. Valladares, MS, RPSGT, Manager, USC Sleep Disorders Center COVID-19 is an elusive buggee monster until it hits home. At the beginning of 2021 I contracted COVID-19. One day I felt like my lungs were slightly inflamed, like getting dust in your lungs and...
The President’s Corner
By: Rafael Pelayo, MD, FAASM Dear California Sleep Society, I hope you are as safe and healthy as possible during this time. It has become routine for the sleep professionals in our state to see patients via Zoom and to wear full PPE when working with patients in the...
The AHI Challenge
By: Robyn Woidtke, MSN, RN, RPSGT, CCSH In 2017, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force stated that screening for sleep apnea is not recommended in symptomatic adults, including those with unrecognized symptom[1]. This is an interesting conundrum as many individuals...
American Academy of Sleep Medicine is conducting the first-ever Student Sleep Health Week (SSHW) – Sept. 14-20, 2020
One of the best ways students can prepare for success this school year is to commit to getting the healthy sleep they need to learn, function and grow. Yet, more than half of parents (57%) with school-age children say that they have a child or teen who does not get...