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Research HistoryThe Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders (MRSDC) has been involved in research since 1980 when it performed its first research study on the impact of night shift work on nurses’ sleeping patterns. Since its’ inception, the MRSDC has been committed to research and the training of future sleep professionals. REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Mark Mahowald, M.D., Director of the MRSDC, and Carlos Schenck, MD, identified REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) in the mid 1980’s. RBD is a rare disorder that only manifests itself during sleep. Normal sleepers experience a form of mild paralysis during raped eye movement (REM) sleep. Persons with RBD don’t experience this paralysis and physically act out dreams and nightmares. Parasomnias Dr. Mahowald and his team have become internationally known for their expertise in parasomnias (abnormal movements and behaviors occurring during sleep) and sleep-related violent and/or injurious behaviors. Their diagnostic and treatment approaches to a wide variety of parasomnias have been adopted internationally. Split Night Sleep Studies MMRF researchers at MRSDC were instrumental in studying the reliability and effectiveness of "split-night" sleep studies for diagnosis. These studies challenged the previous standard of two-nigh sleep studies and resulted in enormous medical cost savings nationally. Sleep Apnea The MRSDC was involved in studying the effectiveness of the continuous positive airway pressure (C-PAP) machine for the treatment of sleep apnea patients. A C-PAP machine is a mask-like device and pump that work together to keep the airway open with air pressure. Education In addition to research, the MRSDC has a long history of training sleep professionals. They have trained over 264 fellows, residents and medical students and many have gone onto make significant contributions to the field of sleep medicine.
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