Sound Sleep Program

Improving Sleep Quality

Approximately 1/3 of the Australian population experiences poor sleep quality or quantity every night. Is that you?

Well, if you are achieving between 7 – 8 hours of quality sleep per night and you fall asleep within 20 – 30 minutes of going to bed, then you are considered a good sleeper. However, many don't, and that is where the Sound Sleep Program comes in.

The Sound Sleep Program assessment includes;

An assessment of sleep posture
An assessment of sleep quality using validated sleep questionnaires
Customised education and treatment to improve your sleeping quality

Your Physiotherapist will analyse the results of your assessment and completed questionnaires, and in conjunction with a face-to-face discussion with you, identify aspects of your current sleep routine that can be improved.

Some of the behavioural and psychological techniques discussed include;

Addressing anxiety-provoking beliefs about sleep
Addressing the balance of physical and mental fatigue
Appropriate sleep hygiene factors
Stimulus control (improving the link between bed and sleep)
Sleep posture
Sleep expectations
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia

Following this discussion with you, your physiotherapist will outline goals and a plan to improve the quality and quantity of sleep.

Sleep Research

Dr Doug Cary PhD, Practice Principal of Esperance Physiotherapy, developed an interest in the relationship between spinal pain and sleep posture, which began with his observations that clients presented to health services with morning symptoms of stiffness and pain, having gone to bed with no symptoms. Given that we spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping and that sleep is critical to both physical and mental recovery, ensuring your sleep is restorative is vital.

Over time, Doug developed a theory that specific sleep postures were responsible and advised clients to avoid potentially provocative sleeping postures. This approach appears to be supported by sound clinical reasoning and biological plausibility, and experience over time suggests that changing sleep posture may reduce morning pain and stiffness. However, there is very limited actual research examining the relationship between nocturnal posture and pain, and it is not known if patients can change or maintain their sleep posture as requested. So in 2011, he enrolled in a Master's by research at Curtin University and over 4 years, undertook research to determine a means of accurately observing and measuring sleep posture in a person's normal environment - not in a metropolitan sleep centre.

In 2015, upon achieving this, Doug upgraded his Master's to a PhD at Curtin University. He first looked at whether there was a relationship between specific sleep postures and morning symptoms. Secondly, suppose a person with morning symptoms can consciously change their sleep posture while asleep. Neither of these questions had been explored by any other research worldwide, and a greater understanding will assist clinicians in advising clients on appropriate sleep postures.

You can read about the ongoing research here, or you can complete the online Sleep Mastery Course here.