Sensationalising Sleep: Perspectives and Protocols for Understanding Discourses of Sleep Health in Aotearoa New Zealand
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Date
2025-07
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Wiley and Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Health Promotion Association
Rights
(c) 2025 The Author/s
CC BY-NC 4.0
CC BY-NC 4.0
Abstract
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.
Description
Keywords
culture, life course, media, news, rest, sleep, society
Citation
Gibson R. (2025). Sensationalising Sleep: Perspectives and Protocols for Understanding Discourses of Sleep Health in Aotearoa New Zealand. Health Promotion Journal of Australia Official Journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals. 36. 3. (pp. e70054-).