Journal Articles

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

'I'm doomed!': audience responses to media reporting on the link between sleep and Alzheimer's disease
(Oxford University Press, 2025-07-01) Breheny M; Ross I; Gibson R
The media are influential in shaping beliefs and attitudes towards health practices and behaviours, and the science of sleep is often disseminated through online news media. This paper explores audience responses to media reporting on the link between disrupted sleep and Alzheimer’s disease. The news article analysed was based on a scientific publication reporting on the link between sleep disruption and Alzheimer’s disease and the institutional press release about that publication. The online news article and the 536 Facebook comments posted in response were analysed using thematic analysis. Although the scientific article and institutional press release were guarded about the implications of the research for human health, the media article used sensationalist reporting on the impact of a single night’s sleep disruption to emphasize the everyday implications of the findings. Audience members who identified as sleeping poorly responded fatalistically, whereas commentors who identified as sleeping well were reassured by the news article. The sensationalist framing provoked an affective response in audience members, which at times led to disbelief in the specific message or questioning of scientific research. Sensationalist media reporting of science has unintended consequences. Attempts to engage audiences with science communication that is simplistic and personal may encourage readers to reject scientific evidence as logically incoherent. This approach discounts the ability of audiences to weigh evidence and accept complexity.
Sensationalising Sleep: Perspectives and Protocols for Understanding Discourses of Sleep Health in Aotearoa New Zealand
(John Wiley and Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Health Promotion Association, 2025-07) Gibson R
Sufficient sleep is a basic right, vital for functioning and wellbeing. Socioecological disparities in sleep status are increasingly highlighted. However, broader social and cultural factors, including beliefs and practicalities of sleep, are seldom considered. This is particularly important for bicultural countries such as Aotearoa New Zealand, where mainstream discourses and health promotion have been colonised. Media provides a platform for shaping beliefs and attitudes concerning sleep. Media messaging contributes to definitions of 'normal sleep' and sensationalised messages around sleep(lessness) and disease-seldom accounting for nuanced differences across the lifespan or Indigenous knowledge and practises concerning sleep and wellbeing. How messages concerning sleep are delivered, interpreted, and resisted varies and warrants exploring-particularly among populations predisposed to sleep disturbances. This paper provides a narrative review of the social and cultural factors influencing sleep and highlights the paucity of research in this space. Responding to these gaps, a current research agenda is presented concerning sleep-related discourses and practises in Aotearoa New Zealand. This includes explorations of media representations of sleep, key audience interpretations, and the development of a theoretical framework to inform appropriate sleep-related research and health promotion relevant to contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond.
Balancing sleeping with guardianship: narratives of sleep during informal dementia care
(Bristol University Press and Policy Press, 2024-02-01) Gibson R; Helm A; Ross I; Gander P; Breheny M
Sleep has been recognised as compromised in dementia care. This study aims to represent the experiences and needs of informal carers via sleep-related accounts. Retrospective interviews were conducted with 20 carers concerning sleep changes across the trajectory of dementia care. Key interactive narratives were around: ‘sleep as my sacrifice’; tensions between identities of being a ‘sleeper’ versus ‘guardian’; and ‘sleep as a luxury’. Maintaining healthy sleep and preferable sleep practices is challenging while balancing the responsibilities of dementia-related care. Acknowledging sleep as a sociological practice enables a greater understanding of carers’ nuanced experience and support needs.
Sleep health in later life: Interviews exploring experiences, attitudes and behaviours of older people
(Cambridge University Press, 21/04/2022) Crestani F; Williams G; Breheny M; Tupara H; Cunningham C; Gander P; Gibson R
Sleep is vital for health and wellbeing across the lifecourse. Ethnic differences have been observed with regards to the prevalence and predictors of self-reported sleep problems. An understanding of sleep experiences with ageing and across ethnicities is required to better support older people. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 23 people living in Aotearoa/New Zealand aged 61-92 years (12 MAori and 11 non-MAori) concerning current sleep status, changes over their lifecourse and personal strategies for supporting good sleep. Participants typically expressed satisfaction with current sleep (usually pertaining to duration) or feelings that sleep was compromised (usually pertaining to waking function). Comparisons to a socially perceived 'ideal' sleep were common, with sleep transitions presented as a gradual and accepted part of ageing. Participants resisted medicalising sleep disruptions in older age. While participants were aware of ways to enhance their sleep, many acknowledged engaging in practices that undermined it. Unique insights from some MA ori participants indicated that sleep disruptions were not so readily pathologised compared to Western views and that sleeplessness could provide opportunity for cultural or spiritual connection. Common narratives underpinning the themes were: 'You don't need as much sleep when you're older', 'Sleep just fits in' and 'Having the time of my life'. Findings provide personal experiences and cultural interpretations relating to sleep and ageing. This provides the foundation for future participatory research to co-design sleep health messages which are meaningful for ageing well across ethnicities.

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