In recognition of her outstanding contributions to sleep medicine and her extensive program of research, Professor Robyn Stremler, dean of the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, has been named a 2024 Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
Stremler is one of the few nurse researchers to be named to the AASM, a long-standing professional society dedicated to the promotion of excellence in sleep medicine healthcare, education, and research. Stremler’s significant achievement, which was celebrated on June 3 at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Houston, further illustrates the impact of nurse scientists and their innovative solution-driven research, particularly in often overlooked areas such as sleep medicine.
“It is a tremendous honour to be recognized by the AASM and join a cohort of such renowned researchers and clinicians who are focused on improving sleep among various populations,” says Stremler who is also an adjunct scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children. “As a nurse scientist, this recognition also signals the importance of nursing perspectives in research, and I hope will serve as an inspiration for future nurse leaders who set out to improve patients’ lives through research.”
Throughout her career, Stremler has centered her own research on improvements in pediatric and adolescent sleep quality, as well as sleep promotion using digital and wearable technological interventions. In 2019, she developed the Sleep Outcomes, mHealth, wearable sensor and Nudging Intervention (SOmNI) Sleep app, a mobile intervention aimed at helping teens improve their sleep and overall health using wearable technology.
Long term lack of sleep, Stremler says, can increase the risk of an individual developing anxiety or depressive symptoms.
“When we set out to understand sleep, and sleep disturbances in certain populations, we are also looking at ways in which interventions can improve sleep and have a positive impact on a patient’s well-being,” says Stremler.
Stremler has previously used her expertise in infant sleep to conduct research into nurse-led interventions during the early post-partum period as well as ongoing research projects that look at improving sleep for families who have children and babies in the NICU and PICU and who are undergoing treatment for cancer.
Some of her more recent research, includes a team grant with the Sleep Research Consortium which will examine sleep equity and intersectional theoretical frameworks, to optimize sleep health for all Canadians.