Jo Abbott

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While technology is not always a replacement, it can offer increased choice and flexibility. Nadezhda1906/Shutterstock

Is online therapy as good as talking face‑to‑face with a clinician?

Jo Abbott, Swinburne University of Technology

Smartphones, tablets and computers are increasingly expanding the availability of health services. This means we can access help anonymous at a time and place that suits us.
Sleep problems can also create a loop of mental illness. Alyssa L. Miller/Flickr

Explainer: what’s the link between insomnia and mental illness?

Jo Abbott, Swinburne University of Technology

The relationship between insomnia and mental illness is bidirectional: about 50% of adults with insomnia have a mental health problem; up to 90% of adults with depression have sleep problems.
The activities we do during the day – from having a fight with a partner to using our iPhones at night – also affect our hormone levels and, in turn, our quality of sleep. Jan Faukner/Shutterstock

Chemical messengers: how hormones help us sleep

Jo Abbott, Swinburne University of Technology

Sleep allows many of our hormones to replenish so we have the optimal energy, immunity, appetite and coping ability to face the day’s highs and lows.
Older adults have less deep sleep than younger people and it’s more easily interrupted. Image Point Fr/Shutterstock

Good sleep gets harder as we age, but mindfulness could help

Jo Abbott, Swinburne University of Technology and Imogen Rehm, Swinburne University of Technology

By learning to become more aware of present-moment experiences, we learn not to react to thoughts and worries that can interfere with sleep.
Time spent checking the clock when you can’t sleep may be feeding your insomnia. bark/Flickr

Explainer: what is insomnia and what can you do about it?

Imogen Rehm, Swinburne University of Technology; Hailey Meaklim, Swinburne University of Technology, and Jo Abbott, Swinburne University of Technology

We all have a poor night’s sleep from time to time: those nights when you lie awake for hours trying desperately to go to sleep but can’t stop worrying about tomorrow. Or when you repeatedly wake up throughout…

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