What Key Elements Are Involved in Sleep Hygiene Training, and How Do They Contribute to Better Sleep?

Cynthia Hoskins, DBH, MOT, OTR/L, CCTS-I

Cynthia Hoskins, DBH, MOT, OTR/L, CCTS-I, is a Behavioral Health Consultant (DBH) and a licensed and board-certified occupational therapist with 28 plus years of clinical experience, including approximately 15 years working directly in the specialized area of mental health. Dr. Hoskins is an Adjunct Professor at Grand Canyon University, where she teaches a wide range of mental and behavioral health courses to graduate students in the Humanities and Social Sciences department. She is also a Psych OT lab and fieldwork instructor for an occupational therapy doctoral flex program. Dr. Hoskins has facilitated multiple guest lectures and trainings on topics such as OT’s role in mental health, empathy and compassion, trauma, sleep hygiene, and workplace wellness to college graduate students and other organizations, including the Department of Defense. She spearheaded a 2021 initiative that involved lectures and one one-on-one staff training to reimplement sleep hygiene groups and education into the unit curriculum on a locked psychiatric unit.

Additionally, during her tenure as a doctoral student, Dr. Hoskins conducted research focusing on the impact of insomnia and other sleep disturbances on acute mental illness and the use of effective evidence-based strategies to improve outcomes. Dr. Hoskins is a member of AOTA and TOTA, a CPI instructor, and a Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist-Individual, and has received CBT training for insomnia treatment. Dr. Hoskins has recently joined forces with other OT clinicians to increase awareness of OT’s role in mental and behavioral health.