Around 35% of Australian adults have difficulty falling and/or staying asleep.
Insomnia is linked to lower quality of life, physical health problems such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiac events, and may even result in a greater risk of accidents, depression, and other serious mental health issues including suicidality and substance abuse. It also costs the Australian economy, with reports from 2010 revealing a price tag of AU$10.9 billion due to high healthcare costs, reduced work productivity, and increased accidents.
The Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences (MICCN) is developing a new approach to insomnia research by increasing adherence and completion of treatment programs for insomnia.
At MICCN, under Project REST (Researching Effective Sleep Treatments), a partner-assisted intervention for insomnia has been developed by leading experts in the US and Australia - the first intervention of its kind to involve the bed partner in treatment.
Couples-based interventions have been shown to be successful in a range of disorders, including mood disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. In a bid to improve insomnia treatments, the MICCN researchers are comparing three treatment programs for insomnia, two of which involve the bed partner, and all of which are based on the gold standard treatment for insomnia.
Want to be involved?
MICCN’s Project REST researchers are offering seven FREE weekly insomnia treatments with experienced psychologists at the Monash Healthy Sleep Clinic in Notting Hill, Victoria. Individuals with insomnia, who are over the age of 18, who speak fluent English, and who have a stable bed partner, are invited to participate. A one-off payment of approximately $380 per couple is offered for the research components. Please note that the following exclusion criteria applies: Untreated Sleep Disorders such as Sleep Apnoea; Shift Work.
For more information, please contact Dr Alix Mellor, t: 03 9905 5912, e: Alix.Mellor@monash.edu