Monday Concurrent Block 1: Behavioral Advances in Sleep-Wake Health

Our culture often treats sleep as subordinate to wake. Consequently, sleep is often sacrificed to increase wake time, thus compromising both. Sleep requires more respect, and a different model is inherently healthier to both states. We will present an evidence-based approach to a menu of behavioral changes that can enhance the day, improve sleep, and offer transcultural practices for enriching the sleep-wake transitions and dream experiences. A practitioner can choose one or a few to incorporate into a practice. Routine approaches to sleep hygiene can helpful, but as a standalone intervention, they usually fall short in meaningful improvement. We will describe the basic concepts of sleep hygiene and introduce the broader principles of sleep preparation, a process that begins upon awakening and integrates strongly with the five other pillars throughout the day. Bedroom preparation and exploration of potential adverse associated conditioning are part of this approach. We then will review bedtime activities as it relates to sleep success. This includes a brief overview of relevant sleep sexology for the lifestyle medicine practitioner. Next, transitional wake-sleep (hypnagogia) and sleep-wake (hypnopompia) states are extendable to gain experiential and emotional growth. Lastly, dream journaling, exploration and lucidity are teachable activities that enhance interest in sleep and life satisfaction. Lucid dreaming permits practice of wake activities with evidence showing sports practice during lucid dreams improves field performance. By attending this session, participants will gain evidence-based insights into enhancing sleep quality and overall well-being through lifestyle medicine principles. In summary, we will describe behaviors and activities that make sleep more attractive without requiring excessive sleepiness as the motivator. In addition, these tools can help the patient get to sleep, stay asleep, and love sleep as a state of being, not just a necessary investment for wakefulness. These are time-honored and used to enhance health and well-being.

Learning Objectives

  1. Describe the behavioral changes that enhance alertness, mood, and sleep quality, integrating them with the six pillars of lifestyle medicine.
  2. Discuss techniques for improving sleep preparation, including circadian rhythm strengthening and pre-sleep routines.
  3. Explain the role of transitional states, such as hypnagogia and hypnopompia.
  4. Describe practices such as lucid dreaming to enrich sleep and life satisfaction.
Course summary
Course opens: 
11/17/2025
Course expires: 
01/16/2026
Cost:
$0.00
  • Mark G. Goetting, MD
  • Dayna Lee-Baggley, PhD

Price

Cost:
$0.00
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