Better Sleep Program
Welcome to the Better Sleep Program for DPFEM and AT
If you are having trouble sleeping, you’re not alone. Beyond Blue’s national survey of 21,014 serving and former police, fire, ambulance and state emergency services employees and volunteers 'Answering the Call (2018)' made the following findings about sleep quality:
Employees who reported good sleep quality: police sector (32%), ambulance sector (39%), fire and rescue (39%), and state emergency service sectors (44%).
More than half of volunteers (54%) reported good sleep quality.
The number of employees who reported good sleep quality declined with increasing length of time in the service.
More than half (54%) of those who had spent less than two years in the sector reported good sleep quality, compared with less than one third of employees who had spent 10 or more years in the sector (31%).
Those in operational roles were less likely to report good sleep when compared to those in non-operational roles (33% and 40% respectively).
The prevalence of probable PTSD, and high or very high psychological distress, increased significantly with decreasing levels of sleep quality for both employees and volunteers.
How much sleep you need to stay healthy and alert will vary from the next person, however in general, most adults need between 7-9 hours of quality sleep and will most likely vary throughout your lifetime. You are best to develop an awareness of yourself by reflecting on the quality of your sleep - seeking input from a partner or family member if possible and how this may be affecting you when awake.
The risks associated with reduced duration and quality of sleep can be huge. This 5 part program brings together information, articles and videos from leading authorities on sleep to help build your awareness of the lifestyle modifications to improve your sleep. Information sources and apps linked throughout this program can also be accessed by via the resource tiles at the bottom of this page.
What happens when we sleep?
Before we kick off, take a look at this short 2min video about what happens to our bodies while we're asleep.
Where to start?
Every journey starts somewhere, and we recommend the MyPulse Health & Wellbeing Screens as a great place to start and check-in to see how you are tracking in a range of health and wellbeing measures which can have an impact on your sleep.
Each screen is a series of questions about behaviours, actions and feelings - they are completely confidential, take between 5-10 minutes each to complete and you can even do them on your mobile device – anywhere, anytime.
On completion of the screens, if you present with moderate or high-risk factors you may be offered follow-up confidential coaching by our qualified MyPulse Coaches to help maintain and improve your wellbeing.
Complete: Mental Health Screen
Complete: Physical Health Screen
Watch: Health Screens & Coaching Explained
