WASHINGTON, DC, March 28, 2005 – Dr. Christian Guilleminault, MD, co-founder and associate director of the Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center at Stanford University, and noted sleep writer Lynne Lamberg are among those to be recognized by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) for their many years of work in the fields of sleep medicine and sleep literature. Along with the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation and Sepracor, Inc., they will be honored at NSF’s fifth annual Night of a Thousand Dreams Gala, held on March 29 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. The event begins the week-long National Sleep Awareness Week® campaign, to bring attention to the importance of sleep as a critical component of one’s overall health.

Dr. Christian Guilleminault will receive NSF’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his more than 30 years of work in the field of sleep medicine, primarily as an international specialist in sleep apnea, narcolepsy and cardio-respiratory dysfunction during sleep. In 1972, Dr. Guilleminault and his colleague, Dr. William Dement, established the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic to diagnose and treat patients who have sleep problems and disorders. The Clinic and Dr. Guilleminault were the first to introduce a procedure for examining nocturnal sleep, now known as “clinical polysomnography;” Dr. Guilleminault also coined the term “obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.” The Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic is widely considered the birthplace of clinical sleep medicine, and continues to be one of the premier sleep clinics in the country.

Lynne Lamberg is the recipient of NSF’s Communications Award. She is an independent medical journalist and editor who has reported extensively on sleep and sleep science for three decades. She is a regular contributor to JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association), and Psychiatric News, and reviews consumer books on sleep, biological rhythms and dreams in her monthly online column, Books for Sleepless Nights, www.sleephomepages.org/books. Ms. Lamberg has also written hundreds of articles, op eds and book reviews for wide-ranging national publications. Her recent book, The Body Clock Guide to Better Health: How to Use Your Body’s Natural Clock to Fight Illness and Achieve Maximum Health, co-authored with Michael Smolensky, PhD, won the 2001 Outstanding Book Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Inc. Ms. Lamberg resides in Baltimore, MD.

The Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Foundation is honored with NSF’s Organization Leadership Award for its work in helping to improve the lives of the nearly 12 million Americans who suffer from this debilitating sleep disorder. The RLS Foundation was established in 1990, with the following goals: to increase awareness of the disease, to improve treatment of RLS, and to find a cure. Among other things, the Foundation provides up-to-date medical and scientific information on the disease and contact and support information for sufferers.

Sepracor, Inc. is the recipient of NSF’s 2005 Corporate Leadership Award. The Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company is dedicated to developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products that focus on respiratory and central nervous system disorders. Sepracor works to develop treatments that improve on current drug therapies by increasing efficacy, decreasing side-effects, and creating more efficient dosages. In 2004, Sepracor developed LUNESTA™, an insomnia drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for long-term use.

The fifth annual Night of a Thousand Dreams Gala is a fundraising event to benefit the National Sleep Foundation. This year, the Master of Ceremonies for the gala is former NBC White House correspondent and NSF director John Palmer. The special guest speaker is Amy Dickinson, author of the “Ask Amy” column that appears in more than 100 newspapers around the country. The event is chaired by Mark Booth, President of Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America. Event vice chairs are Julie Fisher, Vice President of Marketing, Neuroscience and Diversified Products for Pfizer, Inc., and Robert Little, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations for Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. Funds raised from the Gala support NSF’s research and education programs such as those aimed at preventing drowsy driving, and the Pickwick Postdoctoral Fellowships in Sleep awarded to postdoctoral scientists who conduct basic, applied, and clinical research of sleep and sleep disorders.

The National Sleep Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public health and safety by achieving understanding of sleep and sleep disorders, and by supporting education, sleep-related research, and advocacy. NSF is based in Washington, DC. Visit us on our newly designed Web site at: www.sleepfoundation.org.