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Many victories in comprehensive, proactive medicine go unnoticed: good blood pressure, healthy cholesterol, clear arteries. It’s not because patients are unappreciative; it’s simply that they feel relatively the same (unless their metrics get really out of hand).
But sleep is different. When we help someone improve their sleep quality, the impact is immediate and profound. Better sleep translates to more energy, sharper focus, improved mood, and a tangible boost to daily quality of life. And patients notice.
As one of the three pillars of health, sleep matters immensely to me for my patients. That’s why I was thrilled to sit down with Dr. Sahil Chopra, the Harvard-trained, quadruple board-certified founder of Empower Sleep. His approach to sleep care represents a significant departure from traditional sleep medicine, and it’s producing remarkable results for patients throughout the country.
A Broader View of Sleep Medicine
Dr. Chopra’s journey into sleep medicine began during his pulmonary critical care fellowship in Loma Linda, America’s only Blue Zone. “That really got me interested in wellness and lifestyle,” he explains. “But there’s also a big overlap between pulmonary medicine and sleep medicine because of a condition called obstructive sleep apnea.”
As Dr. Chopra’s appreciation for the importance of sleep for overall wellness deepened, he decided to pursue a fellowship in sleep medicine. This fellowship, which took place at Harvard, revolutionized his perspective on the field. “When I went in, I thought sleep apnea medicine was sleep medicine,” he shares. “But I was blown away by the depth and breadth of what sleep medicine and sleep science actually are.”
When he finished his fellowship, Dr. Chopra didn’t want to go back to looking at sleep medicine in such a narrow way. He asked, “How do I provide this same kind of Harvard-grade care that I was taught in the private practice model?” Since there weren’t many established options available for practicing this broader kind of sleep medicine, he realized he’d have to create one of his own.
How Empower Sleep Rethinks the Sleep Study
“Traditional sleep medicine is rooted in this idea of a single-night study, which is a snapshot,” Dr. Chopra explains. That single night serves as the foundation for major treatment decisions, yet it may not accurately represent a patient’s typical sleep patterns.
But there’s an even more fundamental limitation. The technology used in sleep studies captures incredibly detailed information about sleep architecture, breathing patterns, heart rate, oxygen levels, and much more. Yet traditionally, most of that rich data goes underutilized because the focus remains narrow.
“That sleep study gets used just as a sleep apnea test,” Dr. Chopra says. “That robs us of the opportunity to look at the idea of sleep health.”
Dr. Chopra sees the sleep study differently. “A sleep study is basically a measurement of someone’s physiology while they’re sleeping,” he shares. “So at Empower Sleep, when we’re doing sleep studies, we’re looking at them as a sleep health assessment.”
Empower Sleep’s approach addresses both the snapshot problem and the narrow focus simultaneously. Instead of a single night, patients have multi-night home sleep testing with simple, unintrusive equipment. “It allows us to understand night-to-night variability. How are duration, timing, and sleep health changing?” Dr. Chopra says. “It allows us to look at sleep for that individual in their home across time and capture averages rather than single-night snapshots or outliers.”
This comprehensive approach enables both personalized treatment and ongoing monitoring and adjustment. It involves establishing baseline measurements and then gathering follow-up data after interventions begin for a much more precise, individualized form of sleep care.
Instead of asking whether a patient has sleep apnea and stopping there, Empower Sleep asks a broader question: How can we make this person’s sleep the best it can possibly be?
From Symptom Management to Root Cause Care
Perhaps their most significant departure from traditional sleep medicine lies in Empower Sleep’s treatment philosophy. Conventional approaches typically follow a straightforward path for treating sleep conditions. For instance: diagnose sleep apnea → prescribe a CPAP machine → consider the case closed.
But five different sleep apnea patients may have five different root causes behind their disease. Yes, you can force all five airways open with a CPAP machine, but what if you didn’t have to? What if other solutions could improve or even cure the condition rather than treating the symptoms indefinitely?
“Sleep gets kind of bucketed as if it’s one pathology,” Dr. Chopra says. “But there are multiple different pathologies under this idea of ‘I don’t sleep well.’ And all of them have very different solutions.”
Rather than strictly managing symptoms, Dr. Chopra and his colleagues at Empower Sleep view each patient as an individual, considering the full spectrum of available interventions and matching them to each specific situation.
For example, they find cognitive behavioral therapy can be remarkably effective for certain patients with insomnia. Positional therapy often helps those whose sleep apnea occurs primarily when sleeping on their back. Weight management, when appropriate, may reduce or eliminate sleep apnea for some. And treating seemingly unrelated underlying conditions (allergies, acid reflux, hormonal imbalances) may improve sleep quality as well.
Of course, a CPAP machine might be the best solution for some patients. When that’s the case, Empower Sleep handles the entire process. If you need a CPAP, they order it, calibrate it, and ship it to your door. If you need a dental appliance, the practice connects you with an experienced, vetted dentist who can provide it.
Dr. Chopra’s goal is to provide patients with whatever they need so their sleep and breathing are as healthy as they can be. Where possible, he delights in helping patients improve their sleep to the point that they no longer need a medication or device. “I love liberating people from medications. I think that’s very exciting,” he shares. “I love liberating people from a CPAP machine.”
Some patients may not be able to completely eliminate their need for sleep interventions, but even then, improvements matter. Reducing CPAP pressure requirements, switching from a full-face mask to simple mouth tape, or decreasing medication all represent meaningful progress and, often, a better quality of life.
Sleep Health: More Than Disease Management
What strikes me most about Empower Sleep’s approach is how closely it aligns with the concierge medicine model we practice at Brentwood MD. Both prioritize personalized care over population-based protocols. Both emphasize partnership between physician and patient. Both recognize that optimal health requires looking at the complete picture rather than treating symptoms in isolation.
Sleep affects virtually every aspect of health, from cardiovascular function to metabolic health, from cognitive performance to emotional regulation. Yet for too long, sleep medicine has been narrowly focused on a single disorder. Dr. Chopra and Empower Sleep are helping to change that, bringing precision and personalization to a field that desperately needs both.
We spend roughly a third of our lives sleeping. It makes sense to apply the same thoughtful, comprehensive approach to sleep that we bring to other aspects of our health. If you’ve been struggling with sleep issues (difficulty falling asleep, frequent nighttime awakenings, loud snoring, or simply not feeling rested despite spending adequate time in bed), it might be time to explore a different approach.
If you’d like to learn more about Empower Sleep’s comprehensive approach to sleep medicine or reach out for a consultation, visit empowersleep.com.
Dr. Wright joined Brentwood MD in 2022 as the model allows him to spend more time connecting with patients and build a foundation of exceptional care. He is a Nashville native and completed his family medicine residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where he also served as Chief Resident. He believes that your health deserves a prominent position on your priority list, and would be honored to serve you and your family.
