Functional Medicine Approaches to Sleep

Patients with insomnia regularly show up looking for help in the clinics of family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, oncology, neurology, even dermatology.   Insomnia is a major problem that is often difficult to treat effectively. Even the scientific literature does not support the long-term use of the most commonly used sleep drugs. 

Although research indicates that medications are often not the best tool for insomnia, providers have not been encouraged to focus on the most  up-to-date body of evidence which supports the use of alternative treatments. 

In this course, you’ll learn about the biochemical consequences of poor sleep, physiological effects of sleep loss, and even how metabolism is impacted by insomnia. Learn how to prescribe herbs, supplements, yoga, Tai Chi, and meditation to address common sleep disorders. You will also gain access to the basic screening protocols for sleep apnea and other types of sleep disorders so as to better evaluate, diagnose and help your patients. 

• How to appropriately recognize the signs and symptoms of these disorders
• Understand the common neurobiological mechanisms of sleep disorders
• Implement innovative screening and diagnosis of sleep concerns
• Discover the evidence behind supplements for sleep, CBTi, yoga, acupuncture, and mindfulness
• Treatment approaches, protocols and more…

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CME/CE Information

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the Integrative Psychiatric Institute. The University of Colorado School of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The University of Colorado School of Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

In order to obtain your CME credit for this course, you will need to take and pass the CME quiz and complete a CME evaluation after watching the video. The quiz will be linked under the video. The Evaluation will follow automatically. If the quiz is passed, you will be prompted to download your CME certificate immediately after.

Ashwin Mehta, MD

Dr. Ashwin Mehta was recruited as the Medical Director of Integrative Medicine at the Memorial Healthcare system in October of 2015.

Dr. Mehta trained as a fellow in the Program of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona and is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Sleep. He serves as the member of the Board of Trustees for the international Society for Integrative Oncology in 2016 and his expertise includes nutrition, exercise, sleep, yoga and mindfulness to achieve wellness in the context of coping with chronic medical conditions. Dr. Mehta’s research interests include the use of preventative medicine and positive health behaviors to improve quality of life.