A Healthy Man Needs His Forty Winks

Men’s Health Week- 9-15 June 2014

Lack of sleep is often something that we associate with the female population, with pregnancy, motherhood and hormones wreaking havoc with normal sleep patterns.
But are we forgetting the other 50% of the population? 
9-15 June marks Men’s Health Week as part of a national initiative, Men’s Health Month. Over the course of the month, the team at Psychology Consultants will be covering a range of health issues that affect Australian men.
Sleep difficulty is one of the most frequent complaints people present to health practitioners, affecting about 10% of the population. It can have major adverse effects on a person’s life, and has been associated with psychological, occupational, health and economic repercussions.
Professor Gary Wittert, Director of the Freemasons Foundation Centre for Men’s Health, recently reviewed evidence that demonstrated the important role that sleep had for maintaining healthy testosterone levels in men, energy levels, libido, mood, mental acuity and muscle mass. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24435056, Journal of Andrology).
According to the National Sleep Foundation, evidence suggests that people with insomnia have a ten-fold risk of developing depression.
Individuals may suffer from a range of insomnia symptoms, including difficulty falling asleep (sleep onset insomnia), difficulty staying asleep (sleep maintenance insomnia), un-refreshing sleep and daytime sleepiness.
The good news is; there is a way out of the vicious cycle of bad sleep. The first step is to recognize the problem and to speak with your GP about an appropriate health plan.
Psychology Consultants runs a long-standing group programme called Towards Better Sleep (TBS). The programme focuses on education, behavioural techniques, correcting faulty thinking and relaxation strategies.

So if insomnia is troubling you, speak with your GP about your suitability for referral to the Towards Better Sleep Programme, commencing 17^th July 2014.

Visit www.towardsbettersleep.com.au
Phone (07) 3356 8255
Email [email protected]