Shining a light on how sleep affects memory, cognition, and emotion
In partnership with Harvard Medical School & Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
CfSC REM-arkable Achievements!
Dr. Seo Ho (Michael) Song was selected to receive the 2026 Young Investigator Award from the American Neuropsychiatric Association (ANPA) and recently received the Physician Scientist Training Award from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine!
Dr. Shengzi Zeng recently received a Small Research Grant from the Sleep Research Society Foundation (SRSF) to conduct a feasibility pilot study using simultaneous EEG-fMRI !
About the Center for Sleep and Cognition
Learn about our mission and the people who get the CfSC out of bed in the morning.
Read the Latest Research
Discover the latest sleep research from the CfSC and around the world.
Reserve a Speaking Engagement
Book a consultation with Dr. Tony J. Cunningham or another member of the CfSC team.
The sleep doctor is in...
The Center for Sleep and Cognition (CfSC) has been conducting cutting-edge, innovative sleep research in Boston for over 20 years. The lab uses sleep as a tool to investigate the fundamental building blocks of memory, cognition, and emotion.
The current director of the CfSC, Dr. Tony Cunningham, is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Massachusetts with research interests at the intersection of clinical psychology and cognitive neuroscience.
CfSC In The News
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CfSC In The News *
Dr. Cunningham was recently interviewed twice by CNN about everyday sleep challenges that many people grapple with. The first article explores how much sleep we actually need—and why focusing only on hours can miss the bigger picture of sleep quality and daytime functioning. The second article looks at why staying awake in meetings can be so hard, reframing drowsiness as a biological signal rather than a personal shortcoming.
Dr. Cunningham was featured in a recent WCVB Boston news segment discussing the idea of finding your personal “sleep number.” In the interview, Dr. Cunningham talked about why sleep need varies from person to person and why daytime alertness and functioning matter more than chasing a specific number of hours. The segment also highlights common misconceptions about sleep tracking and offers practical guidance for using sleep data more thoughtfully. You can watch the full segment here.
Dr. Cunningham also appeared on the Harvard Thinking podcast for a conversation about why sleep is far more than a “nice-to-have.” We talked about how sleep shapes memory, emotion regulation, and mental health, and why chronic sleep loss quietly undermines performance and well-being. The episode connects basic sleep science to real-world decisions about work, health, and daily life. You can listen to the full conversation here.
Read the Latest Sleep Research
The Center for Sleep and Cognition specializes in investigating the strengths and limitations of sleep in promoting healthy memory, cognitive, and emotional functioning in both healthy and clinical populations. For two decades, the work led by Dr. Robert Stickgold produced many seminal papers that aided in establishing the foundation for the field of sleep and memory. This work continues under the direction of Dr. Tony Cunningham with an eye on translating these findings into novel and effective therapeutic treatments for a variety of psychiatric conditions.
Book a Speaking Engagement
The CfSC team is always enthusiastic to promote the importance of sleep to the public. Contact us today for more details on being involved in your next public speaking or corporate retreat event, webinar or seminar series, media inquiry, or individual consultation.
CELEBRATING THE CAREER OF DR. ROBERT STICKGOLD
CELEBRATING THE CAREER OF DR. ROBERT STICKGOLD
A Year of Celebration and Recognition for Dr. Robert Stickgold
2024 marked a major year of recognition and celebration for the previous director and founder of the Center for Sleep and Cognition, Dr. Robert Stickgold.
First, on the occasion of the end of his 20-year tenure as the Director of the Center for Sleep and Cognition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, we organized a Festschrift – a collection of writings published in honor of an influential scholar – to celebrate Dr. Stickgold’s long and impactful career in sleep and circadian science. The Festschrift will be published as a special issue of the peer-reviewed, open access journal SLEEP Advances in 2025.
Second, in honor of his outstanding lifetime contributions to the field of sleep, Dr. Stickgold received the Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine Prize and was recognized and delivered a keynote address during the Division of Sleep Medicine's Annual Sleep and Health Benefit Dinner. The entire division and several lab members and alumni were in attendance to celebrate this lifetime achievement award.
Click the images below to learn more about these achievements!
“When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago.”
— Frederick Nietzsche