Get The Basics For Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Therapy, a component of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), is a type of psychotherapy. Cognitive Therapy focuses on ways you are thinking about a particular problem that might, in the long run, be making the problem worse. It involves exploring beliefs, attitudes, or perceptions you might hold that may be reinforcing the problem and then finding alternative ways of viewing the issue that can foster a more balanced perspective. This may in turn reduce your level of concern or anxiety. This is important because we sometimes have a tendency to assume the worst about things that are really bothering us which can render us less effective at managing them.

The next goal of the therapy is to then develop practical, workable strategies to help improve the situation. Through education and a number of mental techniques, Optisom's ProjectZ corporate sleep health solution offers an array of cognitive strategies that can help you adopt less negative thoughts and beliefs about sleep and insomnia.

Sleep: The Key to Healthy, Productive and Safe Employees

Sleep: The Key to Healthy, Productive and Safe Employees

The importance of sleep cannot be overstated. In fact, the World Health Organization describes sleep as a basic human need. Without sleep, a person’s health, safety, quality of life, and performance become radically compromised. Decades ago, smoking cigarettes, overindulging in alcohol, driving without a seatbelt, and forgoing sunscreen were not only socially acceptable, but instead wryly celebrated as living life to the fullest.

While individual claims of “not needing sleep” or sleeping very little each night are still met with public approval, research now overwhelmingly demonstrates that insufficient sleep has drastic, negative impacts on health, safety, and human performance. Researchers have shown that enduring 24 hours without sleep, or a week of sleeping only four to five hours nightly, induces a physical, emotional, and cognitive impairment equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.1%.

Modern culture sets unrealistic expectations for 24/7 stimulation, propelled by artificial stimulants and never-ending access to technology and globalized social networks. Extremely long workdays create an unhealthy cycle that involves overindulging, sleeping in, and sedentary weekend activities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared insufficient sleep to be a public health epidemic.

How Do I Turn off My Mind at Night?

How Do I Turn off My Mind at Night?

One of the most common complaints I hear from my insomnia patients is “I can’t turn my mind off at night”! This is a very common problem and I’d estimate that about three quarters of the people I see in the sleep clinic suffer this to some degree. Whether we’re thinking about what’s happening the next day, worrying about big things like the health and welfare of our kids, or just random fleeting thoughts, the phenomenon of the overly active mind at night can really get in the way of falling asleep. Many patients have told me they wish there was a big switch in their head they could simply turn off at night. Unfortunately, such a simple switch hasn’t been invented yet.

Daylight Savings is 3/12. Start Adjusting Your Sleep!

Daylight Savings is 3/12. Start Adjusting Your Sleep!

Your body works to constantly coordinate it's "biologic clock" with the outside world. When the time changes, you are suddenly "out of sync" with the world. Here are a few tips to help re-synchronize your biologic clock as we approach the start of Daylight Savings Time:

ProjectZ Sleep Health Program Achieves 8X ROI for Hyatt Corporation

A recently released case study by Optisom, creators of the ProjectZ Sleep Health Program, measured significant productivity gains for Hyatt Corporation employees.

Hyatt Corporation, a leading global hospitality service provider, deployed the ProjectZ Sleep Health Program to assist its employees with sleep health issues. 

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia

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A majority of people experiencing chronic insomnia can experience a normalization of sleep parameters through the use of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) suggests a new study.

Results indicate that 50 percent to 60 percent of participants with chronic sleep onset insomnia, sleep maintenance insomnia or both experienced remission of their primary sleep difficulty.

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Sleep Matters: Aetna Issues Wake Up Call in Sleep-Deprivation Campaign

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Scientists, psychologists and public-health advocates have been assailing Americans for years about not getting enough sleep and how it can hurt health, job performance and satisfaction with life.

Now Aetna is presenting its own message about the problem of sleep deprivation that, research shows, affects 40 percent of Americans. The giant health insurer has launched a campaign called “Sleep Matters” on digital and social channels to educate people about the acute and long-term dangers of not getting enough sleep.

Jet Lag and Sleep

Whether you're a "Road Warrior" who has piled up thousands of Frequent Flier Miles, or someone who is planning a vacation to a distant location, you are likely to experience the phenomenon of "jet lag," which can have a profound effect on your sleep and alertness. Every day, millions of travelers struggle against one of the most common sleep disorders — jet lag. For years, jet lag was considered merely a state of mind. Now, studies have shown that the condition actually results from an imbalance in our body's natural "biological clock" caused by traveling to different time zones. Basically, our bodies work on a 24-hour cycle called " circadian rhythms ." These rhythms are measured by the distinct rise and fall of body temperature, plasma levels of certain hormones and other biological conditions. All of these are influenced by our exposure to sunlight and help determine when we sleep and when we wake.

How to beat jet lag: A sleep expert's top 10 tips

“Budging the circadian clock” after leaping several time zones is hard – but a sleep doctor says it can be done.

When he got to Yorkshire, England, on a recent trip, Robert Rosenberg began one of his standard routines: He laced up his sneakers and took an afternoon jog.

Rosenberg was, in reality, doing more than getting fresh air and exercise; he was adjusting his body to the local time zone, which was eight hours ahead of his home in Arizona. Rosenberg, a doctor of sleep medicine who runs the Sleep Disorders Center of Prescott Valley, in Prescott, Ariz., was beating jet lag with exercise and exposure to afternoon sunlight. Both are elemental to overcoming jet lag, he said.