Today, Allan Baker, a well-known aviation psychologist, has announced the release of his new book, "BLIS™ For
Insomniacs", which provides details on the new treatment he has developed which helps insomniacs and others with sleep
problems to actively bring on sleep when they need it, rather than waiting passively for sleep to 'happen to them'. This
is a breakthrough How-To-Get-To-Sleep technique and guide for anyone who struggles to get enough sleep.
Working with long haul airline pilots over the past 15 years, Allan has had to help them cope with the effects of too
little sleep due to the nature of their work—changing time zones, flying at night, and frequent layovers in new cities
and hotels. Finding that existing insomnia treatments simply did not provide adequate results, and knowing that pilots
could not resort to using sleeping pills and other medications which would impair their performance, he set about trying
to find a better solution.
"The problem is," he says, "most sleep therapies are simply rehashes of things that sleep professionals have been
expounding for years, with limited success—until now there's been no significant new technique that addresses all the
body's prerequisite conditions for sleep to occur, as a whole."
Extensive research through the relevant scientific literature, particularly that around the effective treatment of PTSD,
and an ability to think outside the box, has led Allan to join-the-dots and make a discovery that appears to have eluded
other sleep researchers.
The breakthrough postulates that the two main existing treatment paradigms, 'sleep hygiene' and cognitive behavioural
therapy, are just two legs of a metaphorical Sleep Stool, and they only deal with some of the conditions that must be
met for sleep to occur. The new technique, coined BLIS—for bilateral induced sleep—completes what Allan refers to as the
third leg of the Sleep Stool, by providing an easy to learn and use method which helps the brain make the shift from
emitting the high frequency Alpha waves of wakefulness, to the lower frequency Delta waves seen when we sleep. When all
three legs of the stool are in balance, sleep is attained much more easily.
"I've discovered from knowledge of other areas of therapy, that it's possible to easily train your brain to shift from
emitting alpha waves to delta waves, and when the brain emits delta waves, it basically brings on sleep."
Allan notes that the sleep industry worldwide is worth tens of billions of dollars, primarily because so many people
struggle to get the sleep they desperately need.
"The downstream effects of disturbed sleep on health are massive," he says.
"If you're getting a couple of hours less sleep a night than you should, on average you're shortening your life by seven
and a half years. Sleep is very important in keeping your immune system working well."
The new technique does not require the use of any aids, devices or apps, which makes it much more suitable to practice
and use in almost any setting.
"The breakthrough came when I started treating getting to sleep as a skill that can be learned. The technique has been
very effective with many of the pilots I've worked with, and I'm hoping that by releasing this book, I'll now be in a
position to help many other sleep deprived people get more of the rest that they need and crave."
BLIS™ For Insomniacs (ISBN: 978-0-473-52117-2) is available as a downloadable PDF eBook for US$14.99 from the mySleepSwitch website at: www.mysleepswitch.com.
A sample chapter of the book is available for free download.About Allan BakerAllan Baker
Allan trained as a military pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and is a registered psychologist. He has had a
psychology career spanning over 45 years, and for the past fifteen years has worked exclusively in the field of Aviation
Psychology. This has led to his deep understanding and interest in the area of sleep, which is so critical for
commercial pilots and air crew.
He is the current holder of the Jim Collins Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions to Aviation Safety. Allan was presented with this award in 2017 for his significant contribution to the development of the New Zealand Air
Line Pilots Association (NZALPA) Peer Assistance Program, and in particular his furthering of a better industry
understanding in the specialist area of pilots' mental health.