Counsellor/Wellbeing
Karen Surian
Become a Sleep Ninja!
Sleep is vital to our health, safety, and overall well-being. Australia’s largest survey of children’s wellbeing, the ‘Happiness Survey’ has found that kids are happiest when they are getting a good night’s sleep. Sleep recharges the brain, allowing it to learn and make memories. Andrew Fuller, a clinical psychologist explains the physiological impact of sleep on our brains: “Getting enough sleep is one of the most powerful ways we can protect ourselves against depression. The structures in the brain that support the most powerful antidepressant, serotonin, are built and re-built between the sixth and the eighth hour of sleep”.
Sleep disturbance refers to difficulty getting enough good quality sleep at the appropriate times. This includes problems falling or staying asleep, having poor quality sleep, being tired during the day, or not being able to get to sleep at a reasonable bed time. One of the key issues for teenagers is difficulty maintain a regular sleep-wake cycle, which can interfere with the circadian rhythm (the internal body clock). Up to 40% of young people experience some form of sleep disturbance, with most young people not getting the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep per night (particularly on school nights). This can adversely affect their mood, studies, relationships and daily lives.
Not getting enough sleep can lead to:
• Having trouble paying attention, concentrating, learning and solving problems.
• Doing poorly at school, impairment in sports performance or other hobbies, too little energy to spend quality time with friends or family.
• Increased risk of injury.
• Increased risk of mental health problems.
• Increased risk of physical health problems.
• Irritability, aggression, difficulty dealing with stress, outbursts towards friends or family
Studies have assessed the adolescent average of 5.5 hours of sleep per night to be equivalent to a 0.08 blood alcohol level. A sign that you shouldn’t be driving a car, but you are also not performing any tasks as well as you are capable.
Sleep Ninja is a free, evidence-based smartphone app shown to be effective in helping young people with sleep problems. Over 6-weeks, Sleep Ninja teaches skills based on cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which promote sleep quality and healthy sleep habits and reduce signs of depression. Sleep Ninja has been developed in collaboration, with young people, their parents/carers, psychologists, counsellors and sleep experts.
Sleep Ninja has been evaluated via a randomised controlled trial that explored the feasibility of Sleep Ninja and its ability to improve Australian youth’s sleep and mental health. This study showed that Sleep Ninja is an effective and favourable intervention for young people (91% of participants would recommend it to a friend) that improves sleep and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.
The Sleep Ninja App is suitable for young people aged 12-16 years who are experiencing mild to moderate sleep difficulties, such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, poor sleep quality, or not getting enough sleep.
The Sleep Ninja app:
• Educates young people about the importance and role of sleep.
• Helps them become aware of any habits contributing to poor sleep (e.g. sleep environment, daytime routine, bedtime routine).
• Teaches both behavioural and cognitive strategies to change their unhelpful sleep patterns.
Users level up and reach their next ‘belt’ by completing one training session and tracking their sleep for three nights (out of a 7-night period). We recommend that young people use the app for approximately 6-weeks to work through the 6 training sessions (modules).
In a typical week, the user:
• Completes a training session at the user’s convenience (takes about 5-10 minutes to complete).
• Completes the tracking component takes around 1-2 minutes per day.
• They may also choose to use some optional functions, e.g. relaxation audio and reminders to wind down.
How to download?
To download Sleep Ninja, you need a:
1. Smart Phone
2. Wi-fi connection and/or data on the phone.
Once downloaded – Sleep Ninja doesn’t need any wi-fi connection or to use data again. The app will work from the phone without internet.
For more information and handy hint on sleep, please check out School TV, which has some great interviews, fact sheets and resources.
Here is the link to the School TV Sleep edition:
https://mccww.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/sleep
Other websites for more information:
• www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au
If sleep disturbance is causing significant distress or is impacting school, work or other important areas of life, we recommend that they make an appointment with the GP to discuss referral options to specialist services.
If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.
Karen Surian College/School Counsellor
