I received an invitation from my friend and former Abatis/Redback Networks colleague, Alison Berg to attend the 4th Annual “Give Her Wings Gala” of the Soroptimist International of the TriCities. Alison will be presenting awards at the event, which will be held on Saturday, April 12 6:30PM in the Inlet Theater of Port Moody, the city where CogZest was founded.

Soroptimist International of the TriCities [Metro-Vancouver, BC, Canada] is part of Soroptimist International – an organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world. Almost 95,000 Soroptimists in about 120 countries and territories contribute time and financial support to community–based and international projects that benefit women and girls.

CogZest is making two donations to the “Give Her Wings” silent auction:

1. A corporate workshop on “How to get more and better sleep: A cognitive approach to Sleep Onset”.

Getting adequate sleep is important for cognitive productivity and well-being. Whether or not they have insomnia, many people too often have difficulty falling asleep initially or falling back to sleep after waking up during the night.

This workshop will help participants understand how to get a longer and better night’s sleep. Several harmful myths about sleep will be debunked. Participants will learn to better understand sleep (re-)onset in particular. Participants will learn techniques to decrease sleep-onset latency, including new cognitive techniques such as serial diverse imagining (“the cognitive shuffle”). Sleep apps will also be discussed.

I will train participants to use a technique for helping people fall asleep that I developed. It is based on my new analysis of the mental processes involved in sleep onset. The technical name of this technique is serial diverse imagining. However, given that it’s a form of the cognitive shuffle, you can just call it that. See my Simon Fraser University publications page for details. (The paper itself is apparently quite “somnolent”: It put Alison to sleep on page 2!)

You’ll be hearing more from me about sleep as a contributor to cognitive productivity. Hint! CogSci Apps Corp., of which I am a co-founder, will have an app for that. And we will announce new research with the University of Montreal.

2. A free copy of Cognitive Productivity: The Art and Science of Using Knowledge to Become Profoundly Effective.

If you live in Metro-Vancouver, I encourage you to come out and support this important cause. While you’re at it, give yourself a chance to walk around beautiful Burrard Inlet (Inlet Trail) and catch the sun setting behind the mountains. I highly recommend my favourite BC restaurant, Rodos Kouzina Mediterranean Grille, which is just across the street from Inlet Theater. Tell Michael I sent you. And please introduce yourself to me at the Gala.