ABP Sleep Medicine study guide
ABP Sleep Medicine · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Sleep Medicine is a subspecialty certificate offered by the American Board of Pediatrics in collaboration with the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Family Medicine, the American Board of Otolaryngology, and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. This page addresses the ABP's requirements; candidates whose primary certificate comes from another of these boards must follow that board's eligibility criteria and registration dates. The ABP Sleep Medicine study guide has 9 sections and about 2,779 words.
01Normal Sleep and Sleep-Wake Regulation
Know the normal adult hypnogram cold: sleep onset via N1 (theta, slow eye movements, vertex waves), N2 (sleep spindles, K-complexes), N3 (slow-wave sleep, delta 75 µV), and REM (sawtooth waves, rapid eye movements, lowest EMG tone). A normal night cycles roughly every 90 minutes, with slow-wave sleep front-loaded and REM back-loaded.
362 words, about 2 min02Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) requires documentation of obstructive events. An apnea is ≥90% airflow reduction for ≥10 seconds; a hypopnea uses the AASM rule of ≥30% reduction with ≥3% desaturation or an arousal (a common alternative rule uses ≥4% desaturation without arousal).
312 words, about 2 min03Insomnia
Chronic insomnia disorder is defined by difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or early-morning awakening, occurring ≥3 nights/week for ≥3 months, with daytime consequences despite adequate opportunity to sleep. It is a clinical diagnosis; polysomnography is not routinely required unless another disorder (e.g., OSA, periodic limb movements) is suspected.
318 words, about 2 min04Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence
Narcolepsy type 1 requires CSF hypocretin-1 ≤110 pg/mL or cataplexy plus objective sleepiness; type 2 lacks cataplexy and has normal hypocretin. The classic tetrad: excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis-REM intrusion phenomena.
276 words, about 1 min05Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders
The suprachiasmatic nucleus drives circadian timing, entrained primarily by light via the retinohypothalamic tract. Light in the early biological morning advances phase; light in the late evening delays it.
308 words, about 2 min06Parasomnias
NREM parasomnias (confusional arousals, sleepwalking, sleep terrors) arise from slow-wave sleep, often in the first third of the night. They feature incomplete awakening, amnesia for the event, and variable autonomic activation.
291 words, about 1 min07Sleep-Related Movement Disorders
RLS is a clinical diagnosis requiring all five criteria: (1) urge to move the legs, usually with uncomfortable sensation; (2) onset or worsening with rest/inactivity; (3) relief with movement; (4) worsening in the evening or night; and (5) not better explained by another condition. It is associated with iron deficiency; ferritin and iron studies are appropriate.
297 words, about 1 min08Sleep in Pediatric Populations and Developmental Considerations
Sleep architecture and duration change markedly with age. Newborns sleep 14–17 hours with polyphasic patterns and abundant REM; sleep consolidates and slow-wave sleep proportion declines across childhood.
289 words, about 1 min09Sleep Testing, Monitoring, and Diagnostic Procedures
PSG records EEG, EOG, EMG (chin and legs), ECG, airflow, respiratory effort, oxygen saturation, and body position. Scoring uses AASM rules: sleep onset is the first epoch of any sleep stage; stage transitions follow specific rules (e.g., N2 continues until an arousal, transition to N3, or wake).
326 words, about 2 min