Bio

Dr. Nnamdi Orakpo is a fellowship-trained sleep medicine specialist with Stanford Health Care. Dr. Orakpo is also a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Sleep Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Dr. Orakpo specializes in sleep medicine and sleep psychiatry. He focuses on sleep-related conditions, including chronic insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and trauma-associated sleep disorders. Dr. Orakpo also treats patients with ADHD, depression, anxiety disorders, neurocognitive disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. He offers interventional psychiatry treatments, including ketamine therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Dr. Orakpo led a pioneering study on virtual reality neurofeedback to treat insomnia and chronic centralized pain. He has also studied managing sleep apnea and obesity using GLP-1 medications. His other research has looked at the development of a rare movement disorder (propriospinal myoclonus) after taking metoclopramide during pregnancy.

Dr. Orakpo has published his research in peer-reviewed journals, including Sleep, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, and Frontiers in Psychiatry. He co-wrote a clinical sleep medicine textbook with his colleagues, contributing chapters on chronic insomnia, isolated sleep paralysis, sleep-related eating disorders, sexsomnia, and exploding head syndrome. Dr. Orakpo has presented to his peers at international and national meetings of the World Sleep Congress/World Dentofacial Sleep Society, the American Academy of Neurology, and the American Public Health Association.

Dr. Orakpo is a member of many professional organizations, including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the American Psychiatric Association, the North American Neuromodulation Society, and the World Sleep Society.

Clinical Focus

  • Psychiatry
  • Sleep Medicine Specialty
  • Sleep Psychiatry

Academic Appointments

Honors & Awards

  • Member’s Choice Award for Best Overall Research Study, American Medical Student Association’s 17th Annual National Convention
  • Third Place, Sixth Annual Poster Competition, Garnet Health Medical Center

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Member, World Sleep Society (2023 - Present)
  • Member, Northern California Psychiatric Society (2023 - Present)
  • Member, North American Neuromodulation Society (2016 - Present)
  • Member, California Sleep Society (2022 - Present)
  • Member, American Psychiatric Association (2018 - Present)
  • Member, American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2021 - Present)

Professional Education

  • Fellowship: Stanford University Sleep Medicine Fellowship (2023) CA
  • Residency: Garnet Health Medical Center Psychiatry Residency Program (2022) NY
  • Medical Education: Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara (2016) Mexico
  • MD, Universidad Autonoma de Gauadalajara - Mexico, Medicine and Surgery (2016)
  • PhD, University of North Texas - Denton, TX, Biomedical Gerontology - Oncology (Prostate Cancer) (2011)
  • BS, University of North Texas - Denton, TX, Applied Gerontology; Minor: Degrees Psychology and PreMed/PreOptometry (2005)

Community and International Work

  • Building Sustainable Communities, Zacatecas and Jalisco

    Topic

    Sustainable Community Building

    Partnering Organization(s)

    Future Without Poverty

    Populations Served

    Rural Jalisco and Zacatecas, Mexico

    Location

    International

    Ongoing Project

    Yes

    Opportunities for Student Involvement

    Yes

Contact

  • Academic
    norakpo@stanford.edu
    University - Staff Department: Psych/Sleep Medicine Position: Clinical Assistant Professor
    • 450 Broadway St # 2
    • Redwood City,  California  94063-3132 
    University - Affiliate Department: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Clinical (Primary)  Comprehensive Psychiatric Services 3100 Oak Rd Ste 270 Walnut Creek, CA 94597 (925) 944-9709 (fax)

Additional Clinical Info

Additional Info

Links

Research Interests

  • Brain and Learning Sciences
  • Diversity and Identity
  • Poverty and Inequality
  • Psychology
  • Race and Ethnicity
  • Social and Emotional Learning
  • Technology and Education

Graduate and Fellowship Programs

  • Sleep Medicine (Fellowship Program)

All Publications

  • Pharmacological management of sleep apnea and obesity, a new frontier. Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Taweesedt, P. T., Orakpo, N., Pelayo, R. 2025

    View details for DOI 10.5664/jcsm.11798

    View details for PubMedID 40476603

  • Chronic Insomnia Textbook of Sleep and Circadian Medicine Orakpo, N., Cetel, M. 2024
  • Sleep related Eating Disorder and Sexsomnia Textbook of Sleep and Circadian Medicine Orakpo, N., Spector, A. 2024
  • Exploding Head Syndrome, Recurrent Isolated Sleep Paralysis, and Enuresis Textbook of Sleep and Circadian Medicine Orakpo, N. 2024
  • Laughing in the Face of Laughter: Narcolepsy with severe cataplexy refractory to medication: A case report Sleep Orakpo, N., Taweesedt, P., Safarpour, Y., Miglis, M., Mignot, E. 2023
  • Jerky Night: Propriospinal myoclonus at sleep onset after Metoclopramide use during pregnancy Sleep Orakpo, N., Tu, X., Hekmat, A. 2023
  • Does Virtual Reality Feedback at Infra-Low Frequency Improve Centralized Pain With Comorbid Insomnia While Mitigating Risks for Sedative Use Disorder?: A Case Report. Frontiers in human neuroscience Orakpo, N., Yuan, C., Olukitibi, O., Burdette, J., Arrington, K. 2022; 16: 915376

    Abstract

    This case report concerns a patient with clinically diagnosed moderate-severe insomnia secondary to chronic lower back pain and sciatica, previously treated with hydrocodone, naproxen, cyclobenzaprine and nightly diazepam. He underwent a trial of 20 sessions of virtual reality neurofeedback therapy (VR-NFB) at infra-low frequency, and by the end of 20 sessions achieved sustained analgesia and consequently, a complete resolution of his pain-related insomnia. Follow-up at 1 year confirmed his improvements were sustained, and he maintained his abstinence from sedatives, as observed on the Prescription Monitoring Program for controlled substances. This case highlights the importance of understanding chronic pain and its connection with restorative sleep: incorporating endogenous neuromodulation in behavioral sleep medicine helped to diminish the risk of benzodiazepine use disorder. This may be the first case of complete resolution of chronic pain with comorbid insomnia after treatment with VR-NFB at the infra-low frequency.

    View details for DOI 10.3389/fnhum.2022.915376

    View details for PubMedID 35664347

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC9158522

  • Case Report: Virtual Reality Neurofeedback Therapy as a Novel Modality for Sustained Analgesia in Centralized Pain Syndromes. Frontiers in psychiatry Orakpo, N., Vieux, U., Castro-Nuñez, C. 2021; 12: 660105

    Abstract

    Neurofeedback (NFB) Therapy is a form of biofeedback, using the electroencephalogram (EEG) that has been in use since the 1970s, serving as a non-pharmacological intervention for epilepsy and psychiatric conditions such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, PTSD, post-concussive syndrome, and now, centralized pain. Chronic pain can increase neuronal activity and eventually causes poor modulation of pain messages. With the emergence of Virtual Reality (VR) in acute pain management, and the contraindications of opioids in chronic pain, applying novel biotechnologies seems like the next frontier in multimodal pain management. In this study, the VR and NFB technologies were fused together (VR-NFB) and used as a novel treatment modality for a 55-year-old woman who suffered from chronic pain secondary to spondylolisthesis with cervical, thoracic, and lumbar disc herniations after a motor vehicle accident with comorbid depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation, and difficulty with activities of daily living, and inability to participate in physical therapy. Our case reports on the sustained analgesia achieved for 1 year after a trial of VR-NFB, and the usefulness of neuromodulation in centralized pain syndromes.

    View details for DOI 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.660105

    View details for PubMedID 33959057

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8093562

  • Gerontology: An interactive text Curch, L., Cox, G., Cohen, H., Eckstein, D., Force, L., Ingman, S., Klein, J., Kronenfeld, J., Orakpo, N., Rogers, A., Shashidhara, S., Thomas, C., Weinreich, D., Williamson, C. 2009
  • Chapter 13 Retirement, economics and work Ingman, S., Shashidara, S., Orakpo, N. 2009
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5365-3692