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90 HEALTH SLEEP DISORDERS FROM PAGE 88 Mr Hart cites some serious health concerns that can arise from improper sleep: • Weakened immunity. • Risk of diabetes. • High blood pressure. • Risk of heart disease. • Weight gain. • Poor balance. • Low sex drive. Sleep-time solutions Professor Bruck suggests that to deal with delayed sleep phase insomnia, trying to get up at a regular time should be encouraged, “to have an anchor and to get bright light in, in the morning”. “As soon as you get the bright light in the morning, you’re going to suppress your melatonin, and if that happens more regularly, you have more of a chance of the melatonin increasing earlier in the evening,” she said. “If someone feels like they have sleep- delayed insomnia, they need to do as much as they can about going to bed progressively earlier. Bright light in the morning is the single best thing you can do. Sometimes people use very light curtains.” Additionally, Professor Bruck suggests a sleep diary, to help assess one’s experiences and determine what concerns someone is dealing with. Mr Hart offers a few ideas for short-term solutions, including dimming a device’s screen as much as possible for evening use, and considering software programs for laptops, such as f.lux, that decrease the amount of blue light emitted. “Practise good sleep hygiene,” he added. “For example, reduce screen time before bed and establish a relaxing bed routine.” Mr Hart, like Professor Bruck, says ensuring someone gets daytime light exposure is an important step. The pharmacist’s role Professor Bruck says that for pharmacists, in terms of a patient’s sleep problem, “I think the important thing is that they understand what’s going on”, so carefully inquiring as to what the patient is experiencing in terms of sleep problems is paramount. She adds that if a body-clock issue is involved, they could consult the Sleep Health Foundation’s fact sheets and read about delayed sleep phase insomnia. “If the pharmacist introduces that to them, it can be very useful,” she said. Professor Bruck also recommends asking the patient about caffeine and alcohol intake, as this can have an impact on sleep patterns. However, sometimes sleep problems can be related to anxiety, in which case over-the-counter sleep herbal products may be useful. “It’s really helpful to direct the person to problem solve,” Professor Bruck said, “and if they have delayed sleep insomnia ... and do the morning light and so forth, it can be helpful. A sleep psychologist can sometimes help them, accessed through their GP. “They can do a referral under the mental health plan, for a sleep psychologist.” Visit: sleephealthfoundation.org. au/fact-sheets to learn more about sleep disorders. References 1. RodNH,etal.‘Overnightsmartphoneuse:Anew public health challenge? A novel study design based on high-resolution smartphone data’. doi: 10.1371/ journal.pone.0204811 2. Adams R, et al. Report to the Sleep Health Foundation 2016 Sleep Health Survey of Australian Adults. sleephealthfoundation.org.au/pdfs/surveys/ SleepHealthFoundation-Survey.pdf 3. Montag C, et al. ‘Addictive features of social media/ messenger platforms and freemium games against the background of psychological and economic theories’. 2019. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16142612. RETAIL PHARMACY • MAY 2021