Hello! My name is Alissa Yamasaki.

I'm your instructor for this course. Welcome. I'm sorry that you are experiencing unhappiness with your sleep pattern, but am hopeful that I can offer some help through our programming at Smart Restful Sleep.

The purpose of this course is to save you time in the long run.

You probably know what it is like to chase quick sleep fixes that don't work for you. While I know you are probably eager to find sleep improvements, this course is called "First Things First," because we're going to review the first steps that you will want to take before you start to try to improve your sleep.

These first steps are key because they help you to choose the right path for you. It's not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing when we're trying to improve sleep. 

Before you get started, please make yourself comfortable, and turn off all distractions (if that's possible - I know how it goes with trying to do several things at once). But seriously, settle in, so that you can take in today's material.

We'll be here for about 20 or so minutes, depending on which parts are relevant to you, but if you get interrupted, no worries, as with any of our other courses, you can always pick up right where you left off or do a lesson over at any time.

By starting this assessment, you are indicating that you understand that this is a test phase and is a self-assessment, rather than a medical intervention. You are in charge of your health information and ultimately in deciding what you pursue or disclose. 

For the self-assessment:

1) Take a minute to download the "Sleep Decisions Checklist" by clicking on the **GREEN** paperclip image located below the PDF. This will allow you to follow along through the course and make notes. You'll use your notes to decide your next steps in improving sleep. 

2) Know that you can either listen or read the lessons. Audio listeners should hit the play button (sideways triangle button located below the title of each lesson).

Now that you have the worksheet to follow along and use today, let's get started. You can move on to the next lesson by hitting "Complete and Continue" in the upper right-hand corner of your screen to start Module 1. Thanks for joining me!

Alissa S. Yamasaki, Ph.D.

Instructor