Sleeping like a baby – research on the importance of getting enough sleep


sleeping like a baby

From Issue 31 of the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand’s MindNet newsletter.
Cate Hennessy
This article outlines research undertaken by Michelle Hull (a Mental Health Foundation Promoter in the Northern team) for her Master’s thesis.

How does sleep affect wellbeing?

“Michelle’s review of current research revealed that overall, good sleepers report a higher quality of life than poor sleepers.
Conversely, she discovered that insufficient sleep has far-reaching negative impacts on health affecting how people think, feel and behave. Amongst other consequences, insufficient sleep leads to:

  • Sleepiness, reduced alertness and a tendency to fall asleep during the day
  • A detrimental effect on school performance. More complicated tasks are affected more by sleep deprivation than less complex and routine tasks
  • An increased risk of motor vehicle accidents
  • An increased risk of being overweight and obese in children and adolescents.”

Michelle found a knowledge gap around the best ways to get better or more sleep. She carried out a high school-based education programme, piloting an ACES (Australian Centre for Education in Sleep) sleep education programme with 29 New Zealand students. The results are available below:
Does Sleep Education Change Sleep Parameters? Comparing Sleep Education Trials for Middle Schools Students in Australia and new Zealand. S. Blunden, G. Kira, M. Hull & R. Maddison, click here
To see the full article click here

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