The obvious consequences of low-quality sleep are: tiredness or sleepiness during the day, brain fog, difficulty focusing or paying attention, forgetfulness, increased errors or accidents, irritability and mood issues, ongoing stress or increased anxiety which may develop into low mood and depression.
There is a large body of scientific research confirming that low-quality sleep may result in serious health problems.
Doctor Chan-Won Kim an associate professor at Kangbuk Samsun Hospital in Seoul analysed data from 106385 participants and found that individuals with either considerable changes in sleep duration or persistently short sleep were at an increased risk of hypertension. LINK
Professor Shahrad Taheri, from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, recruited 522 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus. He compared participants who had no weekday sleep debt with those who had weekday sleep debt. People from the latter group were 72% more likely to be obese. Weekday sleep debt was significantly associated with obesity and insulin resistance. At 12 months, for every 30 minutes of weekday sleep debt, the risk of obesity and diabetes was increased by 17% and 39%, respectively. LINK
Another study conducted in China looked at 282 subfertile couples referred to a Chinese fertility clinic. It found that Poor sleep quality has been linked to lower semen quality and a lower fertilisation rate of 60.13%. LINK
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Open Focus Attention Training is not just another compilation of other methods like hypnosis, NLP, breath work or Mindfulness. It is based on mind exercises, which sound gentle and soft, similar to guided meditation, but they are backed up by EEG neuro-feedback research conducted by Dr Lester Fehmi, a neuroscientist and psychologist from Princeton over the last 40 years.
The core of the method is balancing attention styles between focusing and diffusing.
Focusing helps us to deal with ‘stuff’ and to push things forward. When we focus, we can see things clearly and know where we are heading. It makes us efficient and productive. Focusing belongs to ‘the reality of doing‘.
Diffusing lets us relax. When our attention is diffused, everything gets blurred, our mind quiets down, and our thinking stops. Diffusing brings stillness and a sense of presence. It belongs to ‘the reality of being’.
According to Dr Fehmi these two styles of attending have opposite effects on our mind and body. When we are focused, we stimulate our flight and fight response. When we diffuse our attention, we activate the rest and digest part of our physiology. Most people overuse focusing and live in a never-ending ‘alert mode’ most of their lives. This is why he recommends learning how to diffuse attention and balancing both styles.
The Open Focus Attention exercises are usually astonishing for anyone who tried them. They can give a feeling of very deep relaxation within minutes. They make the mind very quiet by stopping a never-ending inner head chatter. It is a very pleasant and relaxing experience of being fully aware of yourself, your body and your surroundings feeling very peaceful and quiet at the same time.
This method can be used in many ways to improve physical and mental health and general well-being. You can learn how to quickly relax and re-charge yourself in the middle of a busy day, how to reduce your physical pain or dissolve anxiety. You can learn how to fall asleep or enhance your physical performance.
I call it Mindfulness on steroids. Try it for yourself to agree or disagree with me. You can read about that approach at my website and try one of the free exercises here – link.
Dr Fehmi sadly passed away in the Summer of 2021.
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I have 32 years of combined experience in helping my patients as a medical doctor and coaching my students as an Open Focus Attention trainer.
I witnessed many people mastering their flexible attention capacity, achieving their goals and developing skills they didn’t even dream about before starting the training. I know what the common problems, pitfalls, and confusions are and how to overcome them.
I practice flexible attention skills on an everyday basis. I can fall asleep whenever I like, I can significantly reduce or completely stop my physical pain, I can regulate my stress levels and a lot more. I know from my personal and my student’s experience that practising flexible attention significantly changes how you feel about yourself and the world. You become a more peaceful and loving human being.
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Firstly, you should realise that you can practice your attention skills instead of tossing and turning in your bed when you wake up too early in the morning. At least, it will give you a feeling that you are doing something productive and ease some of your frustration. You simply put headphones in your ears and press play. The exercises will make you relaxed enough to spend that time peacefully.
There will be three elements of the training.
I will suggest you watch two short videos a week with my coaching and instructions on how to do exercises.
There will be two 5-15 min audio exercises released every week (starting from the short ones).
I will also give you many tips on how to practice your attention skills during your day without interrupting your normal activities.
You will initially use recorded audio exercises, but the goal is to develop a skill to slow down your brain and fall asleep independently WITHOUT listening to audio exercises. Once you grab the idea and experience it for yourself it will stay with you forever because it feels like learning to ride a bike or tie your shoelaces.
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If you struggle with morning insomnia and daytime exhaustion which stops you from enjoying your life, I would strongly recommend you trying this method.
I know from experience that everyone is capable to achieve some results in attention training and improving general well-being. It naturally varies between people and it mostly depends on how much you are dependent on narrow focusing in your life which directly relates to your current level of stress.
Yes, it requires regular practice and I am fully aware you are a busy person and even considering adding another task to your busy schedule feels painful. However, if you wake up too early you have time to exercise instead of just tossing and turning in your bed. You simply put headphones in your ears and press play.
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You can read about Open Focus and try some exercises on your own. The main difference in exploring the method with me is in tapping into my experience and making your practice very effective in the shortest possible time. Enrolling on this program is the cheapest and fastest way to learn Open Focus Attention skills.
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Click the contact link on the bottom of this page. I will answer your question within 1-2 days.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”WHAT OTHERS SAY” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:40|text_align:center|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Montserrat%3Aregular%2C700|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” css_animation=”none” css=”.vc_custom_1670353693372{padding-top: 70px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;}”][vc_column_text css_animation=”none” css=”.vc_custom_1684593826625{padding-bottom: 50px !important;background-color: rgba(221,51,51,0.01) !important;*background-color: rgb(221,51,51) !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}”]
I found this fascinating & rivetting – thank you so much! Your presentations are really excellent.
I realised when doing the ‘experiment’ with diffuse attention that I both could not think what day of the week it was at the same time as focussing on my hands, but I did not want to come out of that relaxed state. I am always amazed how fast I can get into that relaxed non thinking state. And I am grateful that you share your real life experiences as it massively brings all this to life. Looking forwards to more…
Connie Fautley
You explained the experience of space so well and how you came to this realisation was amazing. So simple and obvious and yet so profound. I am now really encouraged to keep becoming aware of space in a relaxed way so that it becomes effortlessly habitual.
Julie de Burgh
I have been using Dr Tomasz Kopec’s Open Focus Attention programme for some months now. I have been finding it most beneficial in helping me fall sleep, return to sleep when waking early, and calm my nervous system. I have found it to be a very restful and supportive programme to enhance and increase my sleep and relaxation. The programme is well thought out, supportive, thorough, with all aspects of Open Focus Attention carefully explained to the participant.I recommend this programme very highly for those who have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
Sue Cuthbertson
I enjoy helping people and making the Universe a happier place. Fortunately, I work as a doctor and being helpful is an integral part of my job. I have been teaching Open Focus Attention for 12 years. I love it because it makes my mind calm and my body relaxed in a very short time. It also helps dissolve pain, reduce anxiety, fall asleep and more. I believe, a healthy lifestyle includes regular physical activity, a good diet and practising flexible attention.
Dr Tomasz Kopec[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row col_overlay=”#ffffff”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”100″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Thank you Dr Tomasz for this amazing content. I really like how interactive your videos are helping us to understand the difference between the two styles of attention. It is true! All life we were told to “ focus” by our parents at school etc which keeps us in constant alert mode..I lovingly want to let this old style go :-)))) and create a new habit of “diffusing “ and bring more stillness and calmness to my life. I am already practicing your great exercises from starter section regularly especially when walking in nature and they’ve already improved the quality of my life enormously. I am excited about this main programme.
Thank you so much!
Lucia