In honor of Mental Health Month in May, NUHS-Florida interns along with faculty members Jennifer Gantzer, DC, MS, DACBN, FACN and Daniel Strauss, DC, are spreading awareness about the importance of sleep to the members and staff at Vincent House in Pinellas Park, Fla. The organization assists, promotes, and celebrates individuals recovering from mental illness and other disabilities in their effort to improve social and vocational skills, and become employed in the workplace.  

During the presentation, interns discussed the four stages of sleep, and how each stage leads to progressively deeper sleep. They also talked about how the brain and body need sleep in order to properly function.  Sleep helps brain cells remove waste products and boosts immunity, muscle growth, tissue repair, protein synthesis and growth hormones. 

Research shows that sleep deficiency changes activity in some parts of the brain, causing people to have trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling their emotions and behavior, and coping with change. 

In addition to the presentation in May, NUHS has been providing monthly health and wellness presentations to Vincent House since 2015.  

“It’s a wonderful experience for interns to share the vast knowledge they learned in their education at NUHS and provide this amazing service to support the mental health of the members and staff at Vincent House,” Dr. Strauss said.