Comparing Light And Cognitive-behavior Therapies For The Treatment Of Sleep Maintenance Insomnia In Older Adults
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$383,961.00
Summary
Chronic insomnia affects more than 1 million Australians over 55 years of age. The most common treatment is sleeping pills despite their negative side effects. Our proposal is to compare non-drug cognitive-behaviour treatment with a new therapy of evening bright light, the combination of the two expected to be superior to either therapy alone. The project aims to improve the treatment of chronic insomnia in older adults leading to improved quality of life and reduced health care costs.
Infrared Thermal Imaging: An Innovative Technique To Assess Peripheral Body Temperature.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$192,710.00
Summary
Insomnia is a significant health issue, with 10-12% of the general population reporting sleeping difficulties requiring treatment. Pharmacological treatment with hypnotics-sedatives remain the main treatment strategy for most insomnias, despite the adverse side-effects. A better understanding of the physiological triggers for sleep will make it possible to develop more specific treatments for insomnia. Sleep onset is reported to be associated with changes in body temperature. Broadly speaking, s ....Insomnia is a significant health issue, with 10-12% of the general population reporting sleeping difficulties requiring treatment. Pharmacological treatment with hypnotics-sedatives remain the main treatment strategy for most insomnias, despite the adverse side-effects. A better understanding of the physiological triggers for sleep will make it possible to develop more specific treatments for insomnia. Sleep onset is reported to be associated with changes in body temperature. Broadly speaking, sleep onset has been linked with a rapid reduction in core temperature through increased peripheral heat loss. It has been suggested from this that sleep onset insomnia may result from the failure to efficiently lose heat at the periphery and thus, reduce core temperature. To date, the analysis of peripheral temperature physiology has been limited to single temperature thermistors attached to discrete body areas. This technique typically provides very limited information about the dynamic temperature changes. Recently, low cost, high resolution thermal imaging systems have become available, enabling the measurement of real-time changes in peripheral temperature across the whole body simultaneously. This development will help to significantly improve our understanding of the physiological mechanisms involved in both sleep onset and insomnia. The aim of this project then, is to determine whether an impaired capacity to lose heat at the periphery contributes to sleep onset insomnia in both young and older adults. The results of this project will provide insight into whether a reduced capacity to dissipate heat results in an extended sleep onset latency, greatly enhancing our knowledge of the physiology of sleep onset and sleep onset insomnia. In turn, treatments may be developed that directly manipulate the physiological triggers for sleep, minimising the dependence on sedative-hypnotics and the associated adverse effects of these agents.Read moreRead less
There are many challenges to the management of sleep disorders. There is mounting evidence that sleep problems promote impaired memory and thinking and ultimately dementia. My research will focus on improving detection and management of sleep disorders using cutting edge technologies in different patient groups with the aim of maximising brain health. This will be achieved by a range of new treatments including clinical trials, digital health approaches and new ways of improving deep sleep.
Evaluation Of A Rapid Behavioural Treatment For Sleep Onset Insomnia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$268,500.00
Summary
Chronic insomnia is a prevalent health problem that affects 5-10% of the population. It is associated with significant physical and mental health problems as well as lowered quality of life. By far the most common treatment for insomnia continues to be sleeping tablets despite the problems of drug dependence, daytime impairment and long term loss of effect. It is also despite the evidence that behavioural therapies are more effective in the long term. In clinical experiments stimulus control the ....Chronic insomnia is a prevalent health problem that affects 5-10% of the population. It is associated with significant physical and mental health problems as well as lowered quality of life. By far the most common treatment for insomnia continues to be sleeping tablets despite the problems of drug dependence, daytime impairment and long term loss of effect. It is also despite the evidence that behavioural therapies are more effective in the long term. In clinical experiments stimulus control therapy (SCT) is consistently the most effective of the behavioural therapies. However, SCT is difficult to carry out over the 4-6 week period necessary for effective treatment. If the treatment process could be shortened, it may increase the number of successful treatments. We have developed a laboratory procedure which includes the effective elements of SCT. These elements include sleep restriction and the experience of one rapid sleep onset each night. Our procedure involves some sleep deprivation and the experience of many (over 40) rapid sleep onsets over just one day. Therefore, it condenses 40 nights of the re-training benefits of SCT into just one day. A preliminary study has shown this procedure to be as effective as normal SCT. However, with no follow-up therapy to the procedure the initial gains tended to diminish with time. Our proposal is to test and extend the possible benefits of this new treatment procedure. We will compare it with the standard SCT as well as combine it with SCT. We feel that the greatest benefit may be to use the laboratory procedure as a kick start to SCT, which will by-pass the most difficult first 2--3 weeks of SCT. This will greatly reduce the time as well as absolutely improve the outcome. In further studies the laboratory procedure may be transferred to the patient s home, thereby further increasing its effectiveness. We feel the proposal will lead to a significant improvement in the non-drug treatment of insomnia.Read moreRead less
Establishing The Physiological And Sleep Disruption Characteristics Of Wind Farm Versus Traffic Noise Disturbances In Sleep
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,357,652.00
Summary
Good sleep is essential for normal daytime functioning and health. Wind farm noise includes audible and unusually low frequency sound components, including infrasound, that could potentially disturb sleep through chronic sleep disruption and/or insomnia. This project will, for the first time, directly evaluate the sleep and physiological disturbance characteristics of wind farm noise compared to traffic noise reproduced in a specialised and carefully controlled laboratory environment.
Hyper-sensitivity Of The Circadian System To Light In Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$378,858.00
Summary
Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD) is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder characterized by a difficulty in initiating sleep at night and difficulty in waking at times required for work or school. It is associated with excessive daytime sleepiness, reduced academic and work performance, increased anxiety and depression and reduced quality of life. This study examines increased sensitivity of the brain's 24-hour biological clock to light as a cause of the abnormal timing of sleep in DSPD.
A Scalable Insomnia Program During The Pregnancy And Postpartum Periods: An Effectiveness-Implementation Hybrid Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$877,335.00
Summary
Persistent sleep problems are common during pregnancy/postpartum periods and have significant consequences. Cognitive behavioural interventions are efficacious for improving sleep but are not currently available in perinatal care. This study examines the effectiveness, cost- effectiveness, and implementation potential of an innovative nonpharmacological intervention for better maternal sleep and wellbeing, with high potential for sustainable integration with routine perinatal care.
Randomised Controlled Trial Of Melatonin For Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$711,136.00
Summary
Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD) is a sleep disorder affecting 7-16% of adolescents and young adults. It is associated with poor health and impaired academic and social functioning. We will test in a randomised controlled trial whether the hormone melatonin can be used as a treatment for DSPD. We will also assess whether genetic factors are linked to treatment outcome. The study will provide a much-needed standardised diagnostic and treatment approach for DSPD.