OVERVIEW The mission of the University of Washington Center for Research on Management of Sleep Disturbances (UW-CRMSD) is to improve health, well being, and quality of life through the enhancement of sleep quality across the lifespan. Sleep disturbances are common, serious, costly and treatable. Over 70 million people In the U.S. have some type of sleep disturbance and many are unaware that they have a problem.'' Sleep disturbances are associated with particular sleep disorders (e.g. insomnia, sleep disordered breathing, restless legs syndrome), are often co-morbid with acute and chronic illness states (e.g. arthritis, neurologic disorders, depression) or arise during developmental transitions (e.g. adolescence, menopause, retirement), and are sometimes self-imposed due to lifestyle choices, such as work or caregiving demands. Regardless of etiology, sleep disturbances most often manifest as disrupted or fragmented sleep or as an inadequate amount of sleep. Untreated sleep disturbances pose significant daytime consequences and place individuals of all ages at considerable risk for adverse health outcomes. Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to adverse health outcomes from unrecognized and untreated sleep disturbances. Fig, 1 summarizes a conceptual framework for the relationship between sleep disturbances and health outcomes that can occur at any stage of the human lifespan. The UW-CRMSD will address the multi-factorial (e.g., genetics, environment, age/development) nature of sleep disturbances as well as support the development of interventions to improve sleep quality that take Into account important contributing factors such as age, developmental transitions, and chronic illness (Fig. 1).
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