Sleep medicine deals with the causes, diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. A sleep medicine physician treats problems such as sleep apnea and snoring, insomnia and narcolepsy. Sleep apnea is when a person actually stops breathing for a few seconds during sleep, and is usually accompanied by loud snoring. Narcolepsy is a disorder of the central nervous system, and is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, and a tendency to sleep at inappropriate times, even if the person gets adequate nighttime sleep. Also considered sleep disorders are periodic limb movements and restless legs.

Treatment includes overnight study in a sleep center, where technicians observe, monitor, and analyze brain activity, respiratory function, muscle function and other variables that help diagnose complex sleep disorders. Sometimes a physician may fit a patient may with a device to measure a person's activity, their environmental temperature, light levels and mood state, all recorded by a computer the size of wrist watch. This allows the physician to get objective, accurate data on the patient's daily life, and help to assess sleep problems.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Louisiana has 8 practicing sleep medicine doctors. Broken out by city, sleep medicine doctor density in Baton Rouge is 2, in Covington is 1, in Harvey is 1, in La Place is 1, in Lafayette is 1, in Metairie is 1, in New Orleans is 2, in Opelousas is 1, in Shreveport is 1, and in Thibodaux is 1.

Louisiana was named after French King Louis XIV, and the state joined the union in 1812. Louisiana’s population is 4,523,628, and Baton Rouge is its capital city. Louisiana has rich cultural heritage that is celebrated at many festivals all over the state. Taste a variety of cuisines, including Cajun and Creole food. Listen to jazz or zydeco music in New Orleans, visit the French Quarter, attend the Mardi Gras in the spring, or take a steamboat trip down the Mississippi River.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Louisiana has a population of 4,523,628. Of this population, 1,132,763 are under the age of 18 and 528,837 are at or above the age of 65.