Episode #72: “Don’t be afraid of coming for a sleep consultation!” With Dr. Jose Mendez

We welcome back Dr. Jose Mendez, pulmonolgist, board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine, to discuss various sleep disorders and when patients should be referred to a sleep specialist, speaking to both doctors and patients. Jose says, “The majority of sleep disorders we suffer from…are mostly self-inflicted!" He explains the effects of light exposure on sleep, including artificial light, how much of what we suffer from is overstimulation, and how blue light is particularly bad for our production of melatonin. Jose shares that much of the work he does in treating sleep disorders lies in taking a thorough medical history and asking simple questions. The majority of the time there is no need for complicated or unusual testing or sleep tests. Many sleep issues can be eliminated, fixed, and completely normalized by changing a few habits; simple things can go a very long way, without the need for medications. We talk about conditions and medications that may be preventing people from falling asleep naturally. Jose illustrates different types of sleep deprivation, pointing out that many of his patients are doctors. “Our bodies need 7-8 hours of sleep per night. If you don’t get that, eventually you’re going to pay for it e.g. tiredness, difficulty with concentration, headaches, trouble losing weight, trouble with hormones, particularly insulin…” Jose offers himself as an example of how diagnosing and treating his own sleep apnea “really changed my life completely!” He speaks to doctors, providing a few simple questions they can ask their patients, and he speaks to patients about how they can bring up the topic of sleep issues if their doctor doesn’t mention it. A multidisciplinary team may include a neurologist, dentist, psychiatrist and/or psychologist, alongside a pulmonologist. Jose speaks to the role of behavioral techniques and therapy, they can be “much more powerful than any pill!” Sleep issues are pervasive in our culture, and we are fortunate to have experts such as Dr. Jose Mendez to address this “low hanging fruit, we can intervene and correct very quickly!” Thank you for being my guest, Jose, and for all of the critical work you do to support your patients and your colleagues; you are greatly appreciated!