Allan Rechtschaffen (December 8, 1927 – November 29, 2021)[1] was a noted pioneer[2][3] in the field of sleep research whose work includes some of the first laboratory studies of insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and napping. He received his PhD from Northwestern University in 1956.[4]

He did research in the effects on sleep of exercise, mental work, stimulation, stress, and metabolism, as well as the effects of sleep deprivation. He also looked at sleep in reptiles and rats.

Dr. Rechtschaffen and Gerry Vogel, working with colleagues at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York including Dr. William Dement, described narcolepsy—the first scientifically demonstrated sleep disorder—in a landmark paper in 1963.[2] Dr. Rechtschaffen went on to perform experiments in rats that demonstrated the lethal consequences of long-term (two weeks or more) sleep deprivation and REM sleep deprivation.

He worked with Anthony Kales in developing the still-used criteria used by sleep laboratories to report human sleep scale data. The system is commonly called R&K or Rechtschaffen and Kales, named after its key developers.[2] R&K was used from 1968 to 2007 when The AASM Manual for the Scoring of Sleep and Associated Events was published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).[5]

At the time of his death, Rechtschaffen, who was born in the Bronx, was Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Chicago. His family name means "upright" in German. He is the uncle of the author Daniel Mendelsohn and filmmaker Eric Mendelsohn.

References

  1. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (2021-12-17). "Allan Rechtschaffen, Eminent Sleep Researcher, Dies at 93". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  2. 1 2 3 "Section of Pulmonary Medicine Training Programs". University of Chicago, Department of Medicine. Archived from the original on 2008-08-03. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  3. ↑ "NSF Recognizes Important Contributors to Sleep Field". The National Sleep Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  4. ↑ "Annual commencement / Northwestern University". 1957.
  5. ↑ Schulz, Hartmut (2008). "Rethinking sleep analysis. Comment on the AASM Manual for the Scoring of Sleep and Associated Events". J Clin Sleep Med. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. 4 (2): 99–103. doi:10.5664/jcsm.27124. PMC 2335403. PMID 18468306.
  • A manual of standardized terminology, techniques and scoring system for sleep stages of human subjects edited by Allan Rechtschaffen and Anthony Kales, National Institutes of Health, Publication no. 204, Neurological Information Network (1968)
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