“ Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible. ” - T. E. Lawrence

This chapter will aim to cover such questions as - How much sleep is needed?  How much sleep do people get? Prevalence not just of insomnia, but also of other sleep problems e.g. sleep apnoea.  How do we know if we’re not getting enough sleep?  Value of medication and value & instructions for behavioural management of sleep problems.

 

Note there are already a number of resources available on this website that are relevant for "Sleep (and Light)".  These include the cluster of downloadable questionnaires & handouts available in the "Good Knowledge" section's "Sleep, ADHD & fatigue".  There are also a series of blog posts I have written over the years that still contain interesting information about sleep and light.  These include a sequence of three posts on sleep apnea starting with "Sleep apnea: how is it recognised & what can be done about it?".  There are also "Non-drug treatments for bipolar disorder (2nd post) - sleep, light & exercise", "Self-help for insomnia: encouraging results and some available resources", "Is short duration sleep a problem or is it just disturbed sleep that leads to increased mortality risk?  A personal exploration", a couple of linked posts beginning with "Sleep well and live better: overcoming insomnia using CBT"- a workshop with Colin Espie (first post)", "Draft SIGN non-pharmacological depression treatments guideline, 4th post: light, lifestyle & sleep", and a couple of the later slides (88 & 89) in the downloadable Powerpoint presentation at "Biological treatments update for psychotherapists".  If you visit any of these links, it's worth noting the date when the post was first published.  It's still likely the information in the post is of interest, but ... especially with those published a few years ago ... there will probably have been subsequent research studies throwing further light on the areas being discussed.

 

More to follow ...