Thanks to the newest opening in the Neuroscience Institute at Northshore Regional Medical Center, area residents can find the peace required for a healthy night of sleep.

The Outpatient Therapy Services and the Sleep Disorders Center are the newest members of the extensive NRMC family located off of Medical Center Drive in Slidell.

The Sleep Disorders Center is fully accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. It boasts four bedrooms complete with the usual accessories, like dresser and TV, but they also feature some state of the art recording equipment that allows the staff to observe your sleeping habits on monitors located in a separate room.

East St. Tamany Chamber CEO Dawn Sharpe, NRMC Board Chair John Smith, and NRMC Alan Cason cut the ribbon for the hospital'€™s new Sleep Center. (Staff Photo by Chad Ruiz)

Sleeping is the most important stage in a person’s life, Medical Director Dr. Anwant Chawla said, but there are 84 diagnosable disorders that can hamper your attempts at resting easily at night.

The most common of these disorders is insomnia, which affects approximately 64 million Americans each year. Other disorders include snoring, nightmares, restless leg syndrome, sleepwalking and narcolepsy with some disorders, like sleep apnea, are considered life threatening.

In order to diagnose a disorder, Chawla said, patients are first questioned about their sleeping habits. Information concerning their entire day, from waking up till going to sleep, is gathered.

If he determines the patient exhibits signs of possessing a sleep disorder, the patient is asked to stay in one of the bedrooms for a prescribed number of nights where there sleep patterns will be monitored throughout the night.

The recordings are given to Chawla who will analyze the information and provide his analysis to the patient.

Of course, he said, some cases can be complex and patients may be asked to stay several nights.

Chawla added the importance of correcting unhealthy sleep habits is paramount to leading a vigorous life.

“One-third of your life is spent sleeping so if that’s screwed up, than the other two-thirds will be screwed up too,” he said.

He also said treatment at the facility is usually covered fully by most insurance companies.

A grand opening was recently held for both the sleep center and the Outpatient Therapy Center, which specializes in several physical therapy treatments including speech pathology.

The center also boasts some of the latest and in technological products including a state-of-the-art robotic physical therapy machine.