Healthy sleep is important to all aspects of human health.
This is particularly relevant for people living with a chronic illness, as poor sleep can alter their experience of pain, affect tissue growth and repair, and negatively influence cognition and memory.
If you suffer from poor sleep or think you may have insomnia, you’re invited to participate in a sleep study which will look at how an innovative light treatment can improve sleep and pain.
The study is being conducted by Dr Tiffany Gill and a team of researchers from the University of Adelaide, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and Flinders University, with funding support from The Hospital Research Foundation Group.
In phase 1 of the study, you will be asked to visit The Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Rheumatology Department where the study will be discussed in detail before you are asked to sign your consent form for this phase.
Demographic information, a brief medical history, body measurements and medication use will be recorded and a venous blood sample will be taken before you will be asked to complete several questionnaires about your pain, health and sleep.
The team will then provide you with the following to take home for two weeks:
- A sleep diary to record when and how you sleep
- A sleep mat for you to plug in and place under your mattress. While you sleep the mat will measure your sleep cycles and stages, heart rate and movements. You will be asked to install an App on your phone to capture the data, which will be used to examine your sleep patterns.
- A watch-like device to wear on your wrist to measure your activity.
If you are identified as having insomnia in phase 1, you may be invited to participate in phase 2 of the study which consists of two treatment arms using special light glasses or sleep counselling material over six weeks.
For more information, please contact the study coordinator Dr Nerylee Watson on (08) 8222 7369 or email [email protected].
An information sheet can also be downloaded here.
