clinical sleep health

Explore our leading sleep research by experts in psychology, medicine and engineering.

Our research

Our projects

Featured publications

Sleep Disorders, including Insomnia, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), and Circadian Rhythm Sleep Wake Disorders, are common and affect people of all ages. By middle-age, 4 in 10 adults have a sleep disorder requiring clinical management.

Work schedules, environmental noise, sleep and lifestyle habits, mistimed body clocks, conditioned or habitual insomnia, medications, physiology and underlying medical disorders are among the most common causes of clinical sleep disorders in the community.

OUR RESEARCH

We are developing new ways to diagnose and manage a range of sleep disorders.

Our team are working with the community to improve sleep disorder management by re-designing the whole process - from service access, all the way through to individually tailored treatment plans.

In our research projects, we incorporate the patient experience of living with sleep disorders and learnings from our Sleep Health Treatment Clinic to ensure that our new sleep disorder solutions meet the needs of the community.

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^{Photo credit: FHMRI Sleep Health - Nick Antic Sleep laboratory bedroom (courtesy of Cheeseman Architects)}

Current research projects include:

Increasing the Australian cohort of psychologists capable of administering cognitive/behavioural therapy for insomnia.
Understanding the clinical characteristics and treatment efficacy for insomnia phenotypes.
Finding ways to improve bright light therapy for circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders.
Finding new ways to manage sleep disorders in young adults.
Understanding the patient experiences and perspectives of shift workers with clinical sleep disorders.
Safework SA funded research to understand the experiences of paramedics with shift work, sleep loss and fatigue, with a targeted approach to improve early education and support for our young paramedics.
Developing new digital treatments for insomnia.
Understanding the underlying causes of Co-Morbid Insomnia and Sleep Apnoea (COMISA), to develop more effective treatment approaches, and implement these treatments throughout the healthcare system.

Featured publications

Haycock, J., Lack, L., Hoon, E., Sweetman, A., Appleton, S., Loffler, K., Scott, H., & Lovato, N. (2025). Treatment Preferences and Help Seeking Experiences of Australian Adults with Insomnia. Australian Psychologist, Accepted.
Dunbar, C., Sansom, K., Lovato, N., Vakulin, A., Loffler, K. A., Nguyen, K., ... & Reynolds, A. C. (2025). Protocol for a pilot hybrid type I effectiveness-implementation study to improve help-seeking for sleep disorders in the future healthcare workforce: The Sleep Check Before Shift Work trial. Sleep Advances, 6(2), zpaf020.
Evans, M., Crowther, M. E., Brown, B. W., Wanstall, S., Rayner, T., Vakulin, A., ... & Reynolds, A. C. (2024). Sleep disorder risk, perceived control over sleep, and mental health symptoms in paramedicine students. Industrial health, 62(6), 408-416.
Lack, L. C., Micic, G., & Lovato, N. (2023). Circadian aspects in the aetiology and pathophysiology of insomnia. Journal of Sleep Research, 32(6), e13976.
Scott, H., Muench, A., Appleton, S., Reynolds, A. C., Loffler, K. A., Bickley, K., Haycock, J., Lovato, N., Micic, G., Lack, L., & Sweetman, A. (2024). Sex differences in response to cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia: A chart review of 455 patients with chronic insomnia. Sleep Medicine, 116, 123-128.
Reynolds, A. C., Sweetman, A., Crowther, M. E., Paterson, J. L., Scott, H., Lechat, B., ... & Eastwood, P. R. (2023). Is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi) efficacious for treating insomnia symptoms in shift workers? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 67, 101716.
Moulder, Z., Sweetman, A., Lovato, N., Micic, G., Lack, L., & Scott, H. (2023). Sleep-Wake State Discrepancy Does Not Impair the Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia: Findings from a Large Clinic Sample. Journal of Sleep Research, 33(5), e14142.
Scott, H., Green, M., Jones, K., Loffler, K. A., Lovato, N., Toson, B., Bensen-Boakes, D-B., Perlis, M., Drummond, S. P. A., Kaambwa, B., & Lack, L. (2025). Comparing the efficacy of technology-enabled treatments for insomnia: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Sleep Advances, zpaf010.

Resources

FHMRI Sleep Health Clinic

GROUP MEMBERS

Associate Professor Nicole Lovato
Research theme Co-lead

Dr Nicole Lovato is a senior clinical researcher focused on the basic and clinical aspects of sleep, circadian rhythms, and sleep disorders such as insomnia, and the translation of this knowledge to ensure best-practice sleep healthcare is accessible and cost-effective for the community. Dr Lovato has developed new innovative therapeutic interventions and models of care for the management of chronic insomnia and associated mental ill-health.

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Associate Professor Amy Reynolds
Research theme Co-lead

Dr Amy Reynolds is a clinical epidemiology with a particular research interest in work schedules, health and safety. She regularly works with industry partners to better understand the relationship between work schedules, sleep, health and safety. She has published extensively on the relationship between work, sleep, productivity and safety.

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Emeritus Professor, Leon Lack
Research theme Co-Lead

Emeritus Professor Leon Lack brings to this group a 45-year history of research, teaching, and clinical practice in the areas of sleep, circadian rhythms, insomnia, and clinical treatments for these disorders. This broad experience has also resulted in the development of new treatments of insomnia involving the use of wearable devices to make treatments readily available in the home environment to the large percentage of the population suffering from these disorders.

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Professor Peter Catcheside

Research Fellow Gorica Micic

Research Fellow Alexander Sweetman

Research Associate Hannah Scott

Alisha Guyett,
PhD Candidate

Brandon Brown,
PhD Candidate

Claire Dunbar,
PhD Candidate

Darah-Bree Bensen-Boakes,
PhD Candidate

Gizework Desalegn,
PhD Candidate

Jack Manners,
PhD Candidate

Jenny Haycock,
PhD Candidate

Kelsey Bickley,
PhD Candidate

Nikki Stuart,
PhD Candidate

Sian Wanstall,
PhD Candidate

WORK WITH US

We have strong collaborations with academic partners, government bodies and professional organisations. In addition, we work with a range of strategic industry partners to advance sleep health solutions.

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