Caffeine and Sleep

Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance that affects the brain and behaviour. It can be found in many different drinks and foods. This includes tea, coffee, chocolate and soft drinks. Caffeine is also found in some medications.

Caffeine promotes alertness by inhibiting

How can caffeine affect my sleep?

Caffeine is a drug that acts as a stimulant, both mentally and physically. It is found in many drinks and foods that are common in our everyday life. These include tea, coffee, chocolate and cola drinks. Many people do not think of it as a drug. It can be bad

Things you should know about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is evidence-based and the first line treatment for insomnia
• CBT-I is a multi-component treatment that usually includes a combination of education, behavioural and

1. Taking sleep for granted

Many people do not realize how important sleep is. Instead, they may think of it as a waste of time. Time spent in bed asleep is time well spent. There are many very important things that the brain needs to do while asleep. These include forming memories and going

How can we best understand dementia?

Dementia causes a set of problems that are related to each other. These include memory loss, trouble communicating, confusion and difficulty with walking around. There might be difficulty with recognising people they know, even if they are close

As a shift worker, it can be difficult to get enough good quality sleep, which can impact health, wellbeing, job performance, and safety. The following guidelines are designed to provide shift workers with advice on healthy sleep practices, which can improve sleep during rostered periods of work

Many people dread summer because of the problems they experience on the hot nights. There are some things that you can do to help (short of installing air conditioning).

Skin temperature is the key
Research has found the ideal sleeping temperature is around 17 to 19 degrees Celsius. If this level

Sleepless night and hazy days on holiday – be gone! Already dreading your next long-haul flight? Then keep reading as Professor Dorothy Bruck from the Sleep Health Foundation shares her expert tips on how to combat jetlag so you can get the most of your next holiday!

Get adjusted to the time

Back to School sleep tips.

Now is the time to start getting your children back into the school time sleep routine. 

Top tips for getting into a back-to-school sleep schedule:

• Move bedtimes up by 30 minutes each night until you’ve hit the target time for bed.
• Turn off the television

1. What are good sleep habits?
Good sleep habits are often referred to as good sleep hygeine. There are many things that can be done to improve sleep. Here, we will give you some guidelines for what you should and should not do for a good night's sleep. Many people have trouble with their

1. Not going to bed and getting up at consistent times each day
Some of us can get away with changing the times we go to bed and get up. However many people cannot. These people do far better with regular hours of sleep. This lets our internal body clock build a strong sleep wake cycle. Going to

Myth 1: The brain shuts down and is inactive during sleep
In fact, the brain is very busy during sleep. Among other things, it sorts and processes information on what was going on that day. Then it cements these into your long term memory. This is a vital for learning and memory.

Myth 2: You can

1. Establish a regular sleep pattern.
   Regular hours of sleep are important. It will help your child understand when it is time to sleep.  Also, your child will have better sleep. Bed time shouldn't vary by more than an hour across all days of the week - whether your child has an early start

1.Plan for the fact that your sleep pattern is going to change

Babies are not born with a day-night wake-sleep cycle.  They develop this over the first 3 months following birth.  So whilst a newborn baby may sleep a lot, they will also wake up a lot for feeds and other attention and

1. Get the Environment Right

• Your room should be quiet. Hotel rooms are usually well sound proofed to help you sleep well. Use the “do not disturb sign” to prevent unwanted interruptions and take care with the time you set on your alarm clock for the morning. Ear plugs may help if you have a

How can technology use affect us at bedtime?

Technology use before bed is linked to difficulties falling asleep and reports of increased alertness (1). This may be due to one, or a combination of the following:

• Bright screen lights, which can stop our bodies from releasing the ‘sleepy

1. Have a regular sleep pattern
Try to go to bed at around the same time every evening and get up at around the same time every morning. Improved sleep will not happen as soon as changes are made. But if good sleep habits are maintained, sleep will certainly get better. Find what time works for

1. Establish a regular sleep time
During the first weeks of life your baby does not yet have a set day-night rhythm. You can help create this rhythm by setting regular times for going to bed and waking up. These need to allow plenty of time for sleep. The more regular the hours, the stronger the

1. For short trips, stay on home time.
If you are away from home for a only a day or two, try to eat when you would usually eat at home, try to sleep when you would usually sleep at home and try to not go outside when it is dark at home.

2. For longer trips, change your time as soon as possible