Editorial: Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine (SBSM) Announces the Adoption of Behavioral Sleep Medicine (BSM) as the Society's Official Journal

Abstract

Since its birth in the 1930s with the development of the bell and pad treatment for nocturnal enuresis, behavioral sleep medicine (BSM) has expanded to include interventions targeting a variety of sleep disorders. During its early development, BSM lacked a focused, professional identity as researchers and clinicians published in a variety of journals and joined a variety of professional organizations. Recently, a more focused identity has emerged with the establishment of a dedicated journal, Behavioral Sleep Medicine (BSM, in 2003), and a professional society (in 2010), Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine (SBSM). In this editorial, the SBSM announces the adoption of BSM as its official journal. This represents an important next step in BSM's development, allowing for increased coordination between BSM's intellectual and professional homes.

Introduction

The birth of the field of behavioral sleep medicine (BSM) can be traced to the 1930s when researchers developed the bell and pad treatment for nocturnal enuresis. Over the course of the next 70 years, the scope of the field has expanded considerably as researchers sought new ways of applying behavioral principles to a broad range of sleep disorders. Today, the field includes diagnostic procedures and interventions targeting a variety of sleep disorders (insomnia, parasomnias, circadian rhythm disorders, sleep-disordered breathing, etc.) and patient populations (pediatrics, adults, and geriatrics). Along with the growth of BSM research, there has been a corresponding growth in the numbers of researchers, clinicians, and training programs (including graduate and post-graduate) dedicated to the field.

For much of its early development, BSM lacked a focused, professional identity. Researchers, clinicians, and students of BSM published their work in a variety of sleep and nonsleep-related journals and joined psychological, behavioral, and sleep-related professional organizations, which allowed them to identify and interact with subgroups of professionals within those organizations that also shared their interests. However, there was no publication or professional home that fully encompassed and unified the field. Kenneth Lichstein (2003a) eloquently editorialized the impact of this lack of focus as it related to the absence of a dedicated publication in the inaugural edition of Behavioral Sleep Medicine (BSM):

Published BSM research is prolific, but is widely dispersed in dozens of journals and is not strongly represented in the several existing sleep journals (Lichstein, 2003b). Diminished BSM visibility is the cost of a dispersive publication profile. A signature journal is a critical ingredient for the maturing of a discipline. (p. 1)

The field's lack of focus began to change dramatically in the early 2000s as its growth had finally reached a “critical mass.” As a result, the past decade has shown a strong shift toward increasing focus, as evidenced by several key developments within the field: (a) the coining of the unifying term, BSM, and its subsequent adoption by the field at large; (b) the creation of an American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) presidential committee on BSM; (c) the publication of the field's dedicated textbook in 2003, Treating Sleep Disorders: Principles and Practice of Behavioral Sleep Medicine (Perlis & Lichstein, 2003); (d) the founding of a journal dedicated to BSM in 2003, Behavioral Sleep Medicine, (Editor, Kenneth L. Lichstein, PhD, CBSM); (e) the establishment of over 30 training programs that provide BSM training at the undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, or continuing education levels; (f) the institution of a process through the American Board of Sleep Medicine that allows specialists to earn certification in BSM (CBSM); (g) the hosting of the Ponte Vedra Consensus Conference on the future of BSM (McCrae, Taylor, Smith, & Perlis, 2010; Taylor, Perlis, McCrae, & Smith, 2010); and (h) the founding of the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine (SBSM) in collaboration with the AASM in 2010.

Each of these developments has played an invaluable role in the process of creating a defined professional identity for BSM. The next step, as with many developmental processes, is to align efforts that have occurred in parallel and integrate them with shared leadership and resources. Toward this end, and on behalf of the SBSM, we are pleased to announce that BSM will from now forward function as the society's official journal.

A formalized relationship between the journal and the society represents an important next step in the further unification of the field and is logical given the interrelated missions of the two. Specifically, the mission of the SBSM is to develop and promote clinical service, research, teaching, and education in BSM (for more information on the SBSM, please check out the society's Web site at www.behavioralsleep.org). The mission of BSM is to provide a publication outlet for research on the application of the behavioral sciences (broadly defined) to the study of sleep.

Having a formalized relationship between BSM and the SBSM will serve several functions. It will elevate the visibility of this growing area. It will allow for increased coordination and cooperation between BSM's intellectual and professional homes, thereby increasing dissemination of BSM research, encouraging expanded research, and attracting new professionals to the field.

It is important to note that the BSM's editorial structure and process for reviewing manuscripts will remain independent of the new society. The SBSM Board of Directors strongly supported this decision in order to maintain the journal's high level of scientific integrity, which was considered to be of paramount importance. Thus, membership in the society is not required for publication in the journal and will not be considered during the review process.

Although there will not be any changes to the journal's editorial process, adoption of the journal as the SBSM's official publication will result in the following enhancements:

•	Full and associate membership in the society includes a free subscription to the journal.
•	Student members can opt to subscribe to the journal at a discounted fee.
•	Periodic editorials or other featured articles related to the SBSM will appear in the journal.
•	Regular advertisement of the SBSM and SBSM activities (courses and meetings) will appear in the journal.

In conclusion, we are very excited about the new relationship between the SBSM and BSM. We hope this relationship will be a long and mutually productive one that serves to further develop and grow the field of BSM.