Somnology also highly suggested to not take any hypnotics, drink alcohol, or smoke before or during the test. After allowing the patient to lie down on the bed, the time between lying down and falling asleep is measured and used to determine one’s daytime sleepiness. Though somnology does not necessarily mean sleep medicine, somnologists can use behavioral, mechanical, or pharmacological means to correct a sleep disorder. Behavioral treatments tend to be the most prescribed and the most cost-efficient of all treatments; these treatments include exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation therapy, meditation, and improving sleep hygiene. Improving sleep hygiene includes making the
Scientific consensus position statements intended to communicate a summary of the science from the "inside" to the "outside" of the scientific community. In cases where there is little controversy regarding the subject under study, establishing what the consensus is can be quite straightforward. Scientific consensus may be invoked in popular or political debate on subjects that are controversial within the public sphere but which may not be controversial within the scientific community, such as evolution, climate change, or the lack of a link between MMR vaccinations and autism. There are many philosophical and historical theories as to how scientific consensus changes over