Though<unk>  does not necessarily mean sleep medicine,<unk> sts can use behavioral, mechanical, or pharmacological means to correct a sleep disorder. Behavioral treatments Behavioral treatments tend to be the most prescribed and the most cost-efficient of all treatments; these treatments include exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation therapy, meditation, and improving sleep hygiene. Improving sleep hygiene includes making the patient sleep regularly, discourage the patient from taking daytime naps, or suggesting they sleep in a different position. Mechanical treatments Mechanical treatments are primarily used to reduce or eliminate snoring and can be either invasive or non-invasive. Surgical procedures for treating snoring include palatal stiffening techniques, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and uvulectomy while non-invasive procedures include continuous positive airway pressure, mandibular advancement splints, and tongue-retaining devices. Pharmacological treatments Pharmacological treatments are used to chemically treat sleep disturbances such as insomnia or excessive daytime sleepiness. The kinds of drugs used to treat sleep disorders include: anticonvulsants, anti-narcoleptics, anti-Parkinsonian drugs, benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine hypnotics, and opiates as well as the hormone melatonin and melatonin receptor agonists. Anticonvulsants, opioids, and anti-Parkinsonian drugs are often used to treat restless legs syndrome. Furthermore, melatonin, benzodiazepines hypnotics, and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics may be used to treat insomnia. Finally, anti-narcoleptics help treat narcolepsy and excessive daytime sleepiness. Of particular interest are the benzodiazepine drugs which reduce insomnia by increasing the efficiency of GABA. GABA decreases the excitability of neurons by increasing the firing threshold. Benzodiazepine causes the GABA receptor to better bind to GABA, allowing the medication to induce sleep. Generally, these treatments are given after the behavioral treatment has failed. Drugs such as tranquilizers, though they may work well in treating insomnia, have a risk of abuse which is why these treatments are not the first resort. Some sleep disorders such as narcolepsy do require pharmacological treatment.
Somnology
Polysomnography
Sleep study
Magnetoencephalography
Clinical neuropsychology
Electroencephalography
Sleep diary
Hypnogram