Rafael Pelayo MD, FAASM

Rafael Pelayo, MD is a clinical professor at Stanford University’s Sleep Medicine division and the author of How to Sleep. Since 1993, he has worked at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic, treating patients of all ages. He teaches the popular Dement’s Sleep and Dreams undergraduate course and co-authored the textbook with Dr. William Dement. He has lectured throughout the country and internationally. He helped lead the effort to delay school start times for adolescents in California

 His undergraduate degree is from the University of Puerto Rico. His initial exposure to sleep medicine was as a medical student at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, and it became the focus of his career. He trained in child neurology as a pathway into sleep medicine. He currently volunteers in leadership positions for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the National Sleep Foundation, Start School Later, and the California Sleep Society.