Sleep is a hot topic right now, and many health experts argue your sleep is as important as eating well and exercising for your mental and physical health. Sleep medicine research has advanced a lot, and there is new information about what it is and why we do it, and strategies that work for insomnia. We can all rest easy because in this episode of Psychologists Off the Clock, Diana is joined by one of the top experts — Dr. Rafael Pelayo from Stanford Health Care Sleep Medicine Center. In this episode, Dr. Pelayo, author of How to Sleep, provides an overview of sleep, sleep’s function, and strategies to help you get a better night’s rest tonight. Get cozy, and join us to take a deep dive into the world of sleep and change yours for the better!

About Rafael Pelayo, MD

Dr. Rafael Pelayo, author of How to Sleep, is a clinical professor at Stanford University where he co-authored the textbook for and continues to teach the popular Sleep and Dreams undergraduate course (where you may get squirted with a water gun for sleeping!). Since 1993, he has worked with the Stanford Health Care Sleep Medicine Center. His initial exposure to sleep medicine was as a medical student working with Dr. Michael Thorpy at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He joined the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic in 1993 as a fellow and never left. In 2013, he was appointed as a clinical professor at the Sleep Medicine division of the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stanford University. Dr. Pelayo’s clinical focus has been the treatment of sleep disorders in patients of all ages. He has lectured nationally and internationally and has appeared frequently in television, radio, and print. He has served as chair of the Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board of the National Center for Sleep Disorders Research at the National Heart Lung Blood Institute at the NIH. He has also chaired the pediatric special interest section of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. You can find out more about Dr. Pelayo on his Stanford profile or at the California Sleep Society webpage.