Dr. Shelby Harris releases TEDxBeverlyGrove talk on insomnia and performance culture

Dr. Shelby Harris has released her TEDxBeverlyGrove 2026 talk, which argues that chronic insomnia often gets worse when high performers try to force sleep. The talk, delivered in West Hollywood on March 14, is now available as part of the event’s speaker series rollout.

Why it matters: - The talk targets a common trap for high achievers: treating sleep like another performance metric. - Harris frames insomnia as a problem made worse by effort, which could shift how people think about treatment and recovery. - The message points to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia as a non-drug approach that focuses on changing sleep-related habits and thinking.

What happened: - Dr. Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM, released her TEDxBeverlyGrove 2026 talk, "How We Broke Sleep Without Realizing It." - The talk was delivered on March 14, 2026, at the Marilyn Monroe Theatre in West Hollywood, California. - TEDxBeverlyGrove made the talk available online as part of its 2026 speaker series distribution. - Marvin V. Acuna produced the speaker series rollout.

The details: - Harris says the talk focuses on a pattern she sees in clinical practice: high performers who try to solve sleep as if it were a task, and end up making insomnia worse. - Harris said, "Insomnia is effort that follows us to bed. Sleep does not require more effort. It requires less interference." - The talk describes chronic insomnia as a conditioned response rather than only a biological one. - The presentation draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, described in the release as the gold-standard non-pharmacological treatment for the condition. - Harris is a board-certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist and a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in White Plains, New York. - Harris specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for anxiety, depression and sleep disorders. - Harris treats insomnia, nightmares, circadian rhythm disorders, narcolepsy and apnea treatment noncompliance using evidence-based non-pharmacological treatments. - Before private practice, Harris served as director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center. - Harris now holds a dual senior-level academic appointment as Clinical Associate Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Neurology and Psychiatry departments. - TEDxBeverlyGrove 2026, themed "Reimagining the Possible," was held on March 14, 2026, at the Marilyn Monroe Theatre in West Hollywood. - The event brought together 12 speakers, sponsors, brand partners and volunteers for a full day devoted to ideas worth spreading.

Between the lines: - The talk fits a broader cultural conversation about burnout, productivity and the costs of turning rest into another optimization project. - By centering conditioned insomnia, the message suggests that behavior and expectations can matter as much as biology in sleep problems. - The release also positions TEDxBeverlyGrove as a platform for practical ideas rather than only inspirational talks.

What's next: - Additional talks from TEDxBeverlyGrove 2026 are being released online as part of the speaker series. - The TEDxBeverlyGrove rollout gives Harris's sleep message a wider audience beyond the live event. - Viewers can find the event’s social channels through Marvin V. Acuna’s LinkedIn profile and TEDxBeverlyGrove’s Instagram account.

The bottom line: - Harris’s talk argues that the harder people try to force sleep, the more elusive it can become.