The Luke Sklar Mental Health Initiative Presents:
“Why Can’t I Sleep, Even When I’m Exhausted?”
What your brain, body, and nervous system are trying to tell you.
With Guest Speaker Dr. Jaan Reitav
Clinical and Health Psychologist, CPsych, CBSM
Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, in the Mishkan
Does the following internal monologue sound familiar?
“Tonight, I will definitely get a good sleep. It’ll be easy. I’ll just lie down, relax, close my eyes, and drift off.”
But then, the mind races. We frequently wake up at 3 a.m. Getting to or back to sleep seems elusive. And trying harder only makes it worse.
Join Dr. Jaan Reitav for a science-informed and very practical session that will help us better understand how to get the sleep we crave. He’ll talk about:
- Why sleep isn’t controlled by willpower
- Why waking at night is often normal – not a failure
- The hidden “loops” that keep people awake
- The 4 most common enemies of sleep
- Why popular sleep tips work for some and not others
- How to gently calm the nervous system so sleep can return naturally
Please join us in the Mishkan and feel the warmth of community as we learn together, share together, and enjoy refreshments after the program.
For anyone who can’t make it in person, this event will also be livestreamed. The link to the livestream will be provided upon registration.
Please register here (whether attending in person or online) to join us.
More about Dr. Reitav:
Dr. Jaan Reitav is a Clinical and Health Psychologist with over forty years of experience in helping those with serious problems with sleep, pain, anxiety, depression, trauma, and chronic health conditions. He has written chapters on clinical management of sleep problems, pain problems, and contributed to current Canadian Guidelines for managing the risks from sleep problems for heart conditions. His book, Putting Trauma to Sleep, underlined the critical role of sleep for both mental and physical health, and provided trauma therapists with a step-by-step plan to integrate sleep repair into their clinical work.
If you have a question you’d like addressed by Dr. Reitav during the program, in confidence, please send it to: [email protected]
