Sleep Matters

Understand some of the issues older people have with their sleep, learn about the association between sleep and dementia and uncover ways that nurses and care workers can optimise sleep for those living in aged care.

Suitable for people working in:
Residential Aged Care
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Online course

  • Tier
    Foundational
  • Platform
    DTA 1.0
  • Completion time
    1 hr 15 mins
  • Course duration
    2 weeks
  • Certificate of completion
  • Cost
    Free for Australian workers
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Course Overview

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, staff should be able to:

  • Understand the importance and role of sleep, what happens when we sleep, how sleep patterns change with age and the effects of disrupted sleep.
  • Describe factors influencing sleep including depression, physical activity and diet, sleep apnoea, medications, light & circadian rhythms plus mental & social engagement.
  • Describe key points about the timing and quality of sleep – restorative sleep.
  • Describe the role of the following factors in assessing sleep in an older person: medications, diet and exercise, exposure to light, social & cognitive engagement, depression, pain and environmental factors.
  • Conduct a sleep assessment, using the SleepCog tool.
  • Describe a range of strategies to improve sleep in an older person.

Modules

Improve your understanding about the importance of sleep, the brain and sleep and the problems that can arise with poor...
Module 2

Assessing Sleep

Learn more about the risk factors for disturbed sleep and how to assess the timing and quality of an older...
Module 3

Optimising Sleep

Learn about some specific strategies that nurses and carers can use to help older people in their care sleep better.

Course Details

Continuing Professional Development

Completion of this course provides 75 mins of continuing professional development. A Certificate of Completion is awarded upon successful completion.

Acknowledgements

This Dementia Training Australia resource has been developed in association with the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney.

Content leaders:

  • Professor Sharon Naismith, NHMRC Dementia Leadership Fellow and Leonard P Ullman Chair in Psychology, Brain & Mind Centre and Charles Perkins Centre Chief Investigator, Centre of Research Excellence to Optimise Sleep in Brain Ageing and Neurodegeneration, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney.
  • Associate Professor Christopher Gordon, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, CIRUS Centre for Sleep and Chronobiology, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.
  • Dr Shantel Duffy, NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellow, ESSAM Accredited Exercise Physiologist and Nutritionist, Brain & Mind Centre and Charles Perkins Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney.
  • Professor Elizabeth Beattie, Director, Dementia Training Australia, Aged and Dementia Care Nursing, Queensland University of Technology.

Content contributors:

  • Dr Chris Blackwell
  • Professor Ron Grunstein AM
  • Associate Professor Bandana Saini
  • Associate Professor Delwyn Bartlett
  • Dr Loren Mowszowki
The videos were produced by Fire Films in conjunction with Professor Andrew Robinson, and the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania.

Learn with DTA

Benefits of learning with DTA

  • Increase your knowledge of dementia
  • Ongoing access to review course content
  • Real life examples to help you put knowledge into practice
  • Learn anytime, anywhere

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Help and Support

Having trouble with a course or module? Please visit our Help Center to view common questions and answers. You may submit a support request by clicking the green button in the bottom left corner of the DTA website, or completing our online technical support request form.

Version history

  • Published: 13 Aug 2020
  • Updated: 05 Jun 2024
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