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Sleep Health Foundation

The Sleep Health Foundation (SHF) is a non-profit organisation and Australian public advocate for sleep health. The Foundation is Australia’s leading advocate for healthy sleep and helping people to understand the value of getting a good night’s sleep.

Healthy sleep is vital for physical health, mental wellbeing, safety and productivity. Research suggests that over 20% of the population suffer from sleep problems on a daily or near daily basis. Despite this, sleep health receives little attention relative to other aspects of healthy living, such as diet and exercise.

Vision and mission

The Sleep Health Foundation’s mission is to improve people’s lives through better sleep.

It aims to improve people’s lives by promoting sleep, advocating to governments and the community, and raising awareness of sleep disorder.

How the Sleep Health Foundation can help

Advocacy

The Foundation effectively delivers the sleep health message to the community (through its media, social media and website resources) and to community leaders and government.

Collaboration

The Foundation works with key players to promote sleep health. These include patient groups, professional organisations, businesses and researchers.

Best practice

The Foundation promotes industry best practice standards to ensure a high standing for sleep therapies in the minds of the community and its leaders.

Resources

The Foundation makes educational material about sleep and its problems freely available through its website and social media outlets.

Communication

The Foundation has a rapidly growing database of ‘e-newsletter subscribers’ and a growing social media presence through its Facebook page.

Research and development

The Sleep Health Foundation's newly developed research and development division, The Australian Sleep and Alertness Consortium (ASAC), explores research opportunities in the areas of occupational safety and healthcare, as well as road safety - building upon the outputs, expertise and legacy of the Alertness CRC.

New website

The WorkAlert® website provides science-driven tips and knowledge to help conquer the challenges of staying alert in a busy world. It provides advice on how an employer or employee – can keep yourself and your workplace safe.

Information line

  • Call + 61 2 8814 8655 Mon to Fri, 8am to 5pm AEST (non-medical advice)

Recommended links

This information was originally published on healthdirect - Sleep Health Foundation.

Last reviewed: December 2020

Information from this partner

Found 18 results

Behavioural Sleep Problems in School Aged Children

What are some common behavioural sleep problems in children?The most common issues are: not getting into bed; not settling into sleep; not staying in their own bed; waking up at night; getting up in the morning and / or not getting enough sleep.What can you do to get your child into bed at the right time?Set up a

Read more on Sleep Health Foundation website

How much sleep do you really need?

How do our sleep needs change with age?It is well known that as children get older they need less sleep. Different people have different sleep needs. The advice in the table below is only a guide. You can make a good guess if a person is sleeping enough at night - observe how they act and function during the

Read more on Sleep Health Foundation website

Melatonin and Children

What is melatonin? For general information on melatonin please see our melatonin web page.What can children use melatonin for? In children, melatonin is typically used to treat difficulties with going to sleep or staying asleep. It may benefit children who are developing normally as well as children with Attention

Read more on Sleep Health Foundation website

Teeth grinding/bruxism

What is bruxism?Bruxism is the habit of clenching, gnashing or grinding your teeth. Your teeth are not meant to be clenched and in contact all the time. They should only briefly touch each other when you swallow or chew. If they are in contact too often or too forcefully, it can wear down the tooth enamel. This is

Read more on Sleep Health Foundation website

Sleep Tips for Children

1. Establish a regular sleep pattern. Regular hours of sleep are important. It will help your child understand when it is time to sleep. Also, your child will have better sleep. Bed time shouldn't vary by more than an hour between school and non-school nights. The same goes for the time your child wakes up.2. A con

Read more on Sleep Health Foundation website

Sleep Terrors

What are sleep terrors? Sleep terror disorder means very strong feelings of terror and panic during sleep. You have them while you are in deep sleep. They are also sometimes called night terrors. They tend to happen fairly soon after going to sleep. Two thirds of the time, they are in the first period of deep s

Read more on Sleep Health Foundation website

Childhood Snoring and Sleep Apnea

How are snoring and sleep apnea related?A child with sleep apnea almost always snores. They may struggle to breathe and have restless sleep. There are often breathing pauses which may end with a gasping or choking noise. As the child struggles to breathe, they may wake up briefly. In young children the chest may be s

Read more on Sleep Health Foundation website

Bedwetting

How common is it?It is very common. Most children need to wear a nappy or protective pants at night to avoid wetting their bed up until at least age five. At four years of age nearly one in three children wet, and this falls to about one in 10 by age six. Some teenagers wet the bed too. This is especially commo

Read more on Sleep Health Foundation website

Nightmares

What are nightmares? Nightmares are vivid scary dreams. They tend to wake you up. They may often also stop you going back to sleep due to fear. Many children have them, but they tend to stop between ages 9 to 11. If they keep going past this age and are not due to stress or trauma, then the person might keep having t

Read more on Sleep Health Foundation website

Sleepwalking

What is sleepwalking? Sleep walkers tend to move about in their deep sleep. They may get out of their bed and sometimes even leave the house. Sleep walking usually occurs for just a few minutes at a time and may occur up to 3 or 4 nights per week. However some people sleep walk for longer periods of time and less oft

Read more on Sleep Health Foundation website

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The information is not a substitute for independent professional advice and should not be used as an alternative to professional health care. If you have a particular medical problem, please consult a healthcare professional.

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