Sleep Disturbance
What is sleep disturbance?
Sleep disturbance is caused by a number of different conditions that interrupt your normal sleep patterns.
What happens when we don’t get enough sleep?
Healthy sleep is vital for every system in the body. Inadequate or poor-quality sleep can:
increase the risk of physical health problems
be a powerful risk factor for mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety
make it difficult to concentrate and remember things
impact ability to manage emotions
result in suboptimal performance at school, work and sport.
Is all sleep good sleep?
Healthy sleep includes having a regular sleep patterns, i.e. going to sleep and waking up at the same time each day.
Short naps in the day (before 3pm) can be beneficial for some people, but napping is generally discouraged because it can make it difficult to sleep at night.
When to seek help for sleep disturbance
It is advisable to seek help for sleep disturbance when:
- you are experiencing significant distress related to your sleep
- it is starting to impact your daily life.
- your difficulty going to sleep or staying asleep has gone on for more than 2 weeks.
How we can help you with sleep disturbance
Our experienced clinical psychologists at this practice can help you with:
insomnia
delayed sleep-wake phase disorder
sleep problems in the context of stress or anxiety.
People of any age can seek help for sleep problems. Sleep treatment for children aged under 12 usually involves their parents.
Our clinicians use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as the first line treatment for conditions like insomnia. Other sleep conditions may require treatment from a sleep physician, whom we can refer you to if necessary.
Treatment plans can look different for every individual, but in most cases treatment will include 6-10 sessions. These sessions can take place at our practice in Randwick or via phone/video telehealth call.
