A Spa Day for Amy—Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Brain
By Stave McBergty, MDDS
(As translated from The Esperanto by
Steve Lamberg, DDS, DABDSM & David E McCarty, MD, FAASM)
14 November 2025
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“You are your synapses. They are who you are.”
— Joseph E. LeDoux, PhD in: Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are (2002)
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Spa Day!
The Intervention
The other day, as I prepared myself to confront a nightmarishly swollen Email inbox, my AMYGDALA decided to pay me a visit.
My Amygdala--AKA “Amy G”, AKA “Amy G’Dala”--is my brain’s primary “sentinel for danger”. I wasn’t expecting her--and she seemed really upset!
See, normally Amy would seek advice from the prefrontal cortex, but lately, she’s been reacting independently without instructions. She had dark circles under her eyes, her shirt was wrinkled, and she smelled like cigarettes. She really didn’t look good!
I remembered when things weren’t this bad, when she wasn’t so stressed. Normally, she’d put out the call for “fight or flight” only when a real critical situation happened (like that time we almost got hit by a car!)—she’d text the hypothalamus, and all the stress hormones would get set in motion! Ahhh, the old days…
I know Amy regularly monitors a text thread with the brainstem, and she regulates breathing…and heart rate…and sleep. She tells me this all the time. Also: she’s in a long-term relationship with the hippocampus—this is all for memory consolidation and to create emotional memories to protect me from future “incoming” bad stuff. I realized with a bit of a start as she was talking-- just how hard her job really is!
Golly! No wonder she’s so twitchy!
I looked at her closely as I poured her a cup of tea.
She looked pale.
She kept saying “There is danger everywhere!”—muttering it under her breath. She kept repeating herself. Honestly, she wasn’t making much sense. I could see her phone kept beeping—she was ignoring it. My guess was that she’d completely stopped listening to the other parts of the brain like the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. She’d lost touch with reality.
I took her hands in mine. They were shaking. “What’s wrong, dear?” I asked gently. I knew that lots of stuff could be going on. Any form of chronic stress could land her in this mess: trauma, poor sleep, inflammation, constant stimulation…she’d gotten to the point where everything was making her scream…
“Amy G,” I said, “I think it’s time for an intervention.” She looked about ready to dash, but I calmed her, soothing her, holding her hands.
“I think it’s time for a Spa Day—or maybe even THREE…”
I was so glad when Amy did not say “No”…
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Day 1
On our first day, in the morning, we did a “slow exhalation breathing clinic. (4 seconds in and 6-8 seconds out) We both understood that this would help tip the balance from “sympathetic” (“fight or flight”) to “parasympathetic” (“rest & digest”). The slow exhale helps to stimulate our wandering friend, the VAGUS NERVE, and allows for better relaxation…
That afternoon, we had a muscle relaxation clinic (yoga nidra), also shifting the autonomic balance, reducing the sympathetic tone.
The evening program was the first therapy she resisted. She found the cold plunge difficult, but I convinced her that it would strengthen the overall vagal tone and benefit her emotional control issues. Reluctantly, and with an Earth-rending “YAWWWWP!”, she conceded…and was glad she did!
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Day 2
Day 2 was a long one, but gratifying. In the morning, we got Amy re-acquainted with the pre-frontal cortex, learning that labelling “feelings” with the thinking part of the brain can make her less twitchy. She thought this part was cool.
There was a guest speaker, talking about light therapy. We saw how blue light therapy during the day increases functional connectivity to the prefrontal cortex which helped with emotional regulation and with her normal growth and development. We learned that amber light was linked to a more relaxed and calm state. Broad spectrum white light overall reduced Amy’s reactivity to threats.
It was the red-light therapy that really got her attention –we learned this can actually enhance Amy’s cellular energy metabolism, reducing oxidative stress and inflammation while improving blood flow and oxygenation! Red light seemingly enhances mitochondrial function and may help improve depression and anxiety symptoms and normalize limbic circuit metabolism!
That afternoon, we had a sit-down academic class called “Cognitive Reappraisal”—the speaker was sort of boring, but the content was pretty good—we learned that conscious reframing of the situation could serve to rewire her response over time. The stories we tell ourselves—we learned that they matter to the grey matter!!!
That evening, over a beautifully simple tea service, we enjoyed a session entitled “Mindful Awareness”—talking about how we can notice sensations without judgment, watching feelings pass like clouds scrolling across the sky. We learned that “avoidance” of feelings actually makes them worse (!) and that gradual safe exposure to triggers can help Amy cope.
“Exposure Therapy” is what they called it, and after one session, Amy felt decidedly calmer.
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Day 3
Our final day at the Spa had a general theme of emotional resilience. The morning began with a discussion on sleep--specifically how REM sleep processes emotional memories and recalibrates her activity. We both liked this.
The afternoon session was even more interesting to her because it involved exercise and nutrition. Amy learned that aerobic activity like walking and dancing increases brain derived neurotropic factor--“BDNF”--which strengthens cortical control over emotional circuits.
“What?” Amy blurted, “you mean that just going for a 10-minute walk is kind of like taking a pill for my mood?”
“That’s exactly right!” the instructor grinned.
Over lunch, we talked about nutritional supplements--from omega-3s, magnesium and polyphenols—that can support Amy’s healthy relationship with the hippocampus. We decided to take some pamphlets.
The closing session on Day 3 was all about how brains grow—a subject called “neuroplasticity.” We learned about neurofeedback--including “α-theta or amygdala retraining protocols” and eye movement desensitization reprocessing “EMDR” for trauma-linked over-activation. We even tried meditative visualization (self-directed neuroplasticity) where we practiced visualizing calm responses in the presence of triggers.
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The Ride Home
Amy G and I felt good. The 3-Day Spa Weekend was a real hit, and the drive home was a welcome time to reflect. In the car we organized a list of daily things that we could work on together while we chilled out listening to her cousin Kenny G’s new CD.
Amy G started by summarizing the weekend and then committed to the following 5 rituals.
1 Sit quietly, breathe slowly (4 seconds in and 6 seconds out)
2 Notice one physical sensation of safety (like the chair supporting her)
3 Label any emotion that arises (tense, calm, worried)
4 Picture herself softening or cooling like a dial being turned down
5 End by visualizing herself handling a mild stressor with calm confidence
Most importantly, she insisted that I had better improve my sleep for a ton of reasons! She reminded me that when I sleep poorly for just one night that her response to negative stimuli could increase by as much as 60%...and that without enough REM sleep, she tends to get snappish with mild threats, as if they were real emergencies!
Whew, Amy G! OK, I hear you!
That night, when we got home, I couldn’t help but smile, reflecting on my new deeper relationship with the beautiful Amy G. I made my room cool and dark and quiet and drifted off into a wonderful slumber, knowing that this would be an ongoing journey for the rest of our lives.
Sleep well, Amy G! We’ve both earned it!
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About The Co-Creator: Steve Lamberg, DDS, DABDSM—WHO ARE YOU??
Dr. Steve Lamberg has been practicing all phases of general dentistry in Northport, New York, for over 45 years with a focus on comprehensive restorative dentistry that is sensitive to airway issues.
After being the president of the NY chapter of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry early on, he became airway aware in 2004 and followed this curiosity to become a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine in 2011, He has served on their board review faculty. Additionally he has studied extensively with Dawson and Misch and Kois.
He is the inventor of the Lamberg SleepWell Appliance “LSW”, which is an FDA-cleared appliance for the treatment of OSA and holds several related patents. He regularly contributes articles to peer- reviewed journals, is on the editorial review board of Dental Sleep Practice, and lectures internationally to help dentists integrate dental sleep medicine into their general dental practices.
Dr. Lamberg also launched, and serves as the director of, the Pediatric and Adult Airway Network of New York (PAANNY) to provide a transdisciplinary platform where dentists, physicians, orofacial myologists, and other related professionals learn and collaborate on treatment patients of all ages. Additionally, Dr. Lamberg serves as a Scientific Advisor for airway at the Kois Center in Seattle and has created a course there focusing on practicing dentistry on airway compromised patients. Dr. Lamberg also created and teaches a Dental Sleep Medicine mini-residency for Nierman Practice Management in Florida and teaches a continuum for Aurum Lab in Canada.
After creating a medical screening questionnaire, the Lamberg Questionnaire, he went on to publish a supporting book, Treat the Cause, Treat the Airway which correlates many common medical conditions to airway and sleep and is available on Amazon in English and published in several other languages by Quintessence Publishing.
Dr. Lamberg believes processing collected data using AI will take us to the next generation of diagnosing and treating the cause of the airway problem. He is currently a consultant for an AI start-up to achieve this goal.
Most recently he has introduced the Lamberg Protocol (Inside Dentistry, Nov. 2025) which outlines a workflow from screening to diagnosis, and then from data collection to diagnosing the cause which uncovers the most appropriate and effective treatment.
Bridging the gap between research and clinical practice continues to be his passion.
more information at: www.DrLamberg.com.