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I'd received just three days prior from Dr. Mitchell Engler. Dr. Engler is the Co-Director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Engle- wood Hospital and Medical Center. A specialist in Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, Dr. Engler spends his days treating patients with sleep issues far more aggressive than my own. Over the last three days, I'd made a couple of adjustments to my sleep routine per the advice of Dr. Engler. e first change was easy enough to make—I refrained from alcohol with- in earshot of my bedtime. "If you consume alcohol right be- fore bedtime it will sedate you and allow you sleep. However, as your body metabolizes the alcohol during the night, it increases the pressure on your brain to wake up and further fragments your sleep, making you even more tired in the morning," Dr. Engler said. e second change continues to be a struggle, as it goes against ev- ery impulse I have as a millennial— no phone, no computer and no iPad within two or three hours of sleep. "When you look at the screen your brain gets revved up, making it that much harder to get to sleep. In ad- dition, the wavelength of light from your computer is the same blue light that stimulates your pineal gland to think it's morning and time to wake up," Dr. Engler said. Dr. Engler teaches his patients that the best way to fall asleep is to do relaxation breathing. You breathe in slowly through your nose and out through your mouth. Aer four breaths, you relax your forehead mus- cles. Aer the next four breaths, relax your neck. Work your way down until every segment of your body has been individually calmed. "If you can't fall asleep aer that, I recommend you go into another room in your home, sit down and read a book or a magazine for a few minutes until you feel tired. en re- turn to bed and do your relaxation breathing again." "is is not easy to do, I tell my pa- tients with insomnia, 'you didn't get this way overnight and it doesn't go away overnight. It takes work but ulti- mately you're retraining your brain to associate bed with sleep and not with staring at the ceiling,'" Dr. Engler said. At the Sleep Center, Dr. Engler works alongside physicians who spe- cialize in pediatric pulmonary med- icine, neurology, otolaryngology, psychiatry, and obesity. ey work as a collective and pull from their di- verse range of specialties in order to conduct sleep testing and diagnos- tic work that is comprehensive and cross-disciplinary. e most common sleep disorders Dr. Engler treats are insomnia, sleep apnea, periodic limb movement dis- order and narcolepsy. Treatment plans for each of these disorders are oen noninvasive and allow patients to return to a regular sleep routine. In order to diagnose some of these disorders, patients may have to do an overnight, sleep study inside the Sleep Center. Patients can arrange their stay for any night of the week, including weekends, and will sleep in one of the Center's recently renovat- ed suites. Each suite is equipped with a full- size mattress, a private bathroom, and all the creature comforts nec- essary to help patients feel more at home. Standard outlets as well as USB ports are immediately accessible to patients above their bedside tables, a 32" TV is mounted in front of the bed and an independent thermostat is available so patients can control the temperature of their room. e bathrooms are fully wheel- chair accessible and freshly lined with glass and mosaic tile. Bedrooms are adorned with luxury vinyl tile flooring, brand new wall coverings, wall sconces for warm lighting, head- board and bedside tables with a mill- work finish and a unique accent wall. Being asked to sleep overnight in a hospital can be a scary proposition, but the staff at the Sleep Center have made every effort to create a space that is as comfortable as any hotel. Sleep is such a fundamental part of our physical, emotional and psycho- logical health, and to go without it is a nightmare. So a place like the Sleep Center, that is stacked with doctors who just want to help, is a resource that all of us sleep-deprived insom- niacs should really utilize. Let's not spend the rest of our lives counting paint chips on the ceiling. VUE ON WELLNESS V U E N J . C O M 137

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