Starved for Sleep: The Overlooked Role of Sleep in Eating Disorders

Martha Curtin, MSPA, PA-C, is a Physician Assistant specializing in Sleep Medicine with extensive experience in the diagnosis and management of complex sleep disorders. Her clinical expertise includes obstructive and central sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, insomnia, narcolepsy, and idiopathic hypersomnia. Martha is also skilled in Brief Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (BBTI), taking a comprehensive, patient-centered approach that integrates medical, behavioral, and lifestyle interventions to improve sleep health and overall quality of life.

In addition to her clinical practice, Martha serves as a consultant, speaker, and advisor for pharmaceutical companies focused on advancing therapies for narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. Her unique perspective as both a clinician and educator allows her to bridge the gap between science and patient care, helping to improve awareness, understanding, and treatment outcomes for individuals living with sleep disorders.

Martha is deeply passionate about education and advocacy within sleep medicine. Throughout her career, she has worked to increase awareness of sleep disorders across entire healthcare organizations — from front desk and billing teams to sleep lab staff and providers. She is also a frequent guest speaker at nursing, physician assistant, and medical programs, where she helps bring greater visibility to sleep medicine topics that have historically been underrepresented in clinical education. Her goal is to promote earlier detection, diagnosis, treatment, and ultimately improve patients’ quality of life.