The role of sleep in adolescent mental health – Presented by Dr. Faith Orchard as part of the ‘Professor Judy Dunn Webinar Series’

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As part of the ‘Professor Judy Dunn Webinar Series’ we are delighted to welcome Dr. Faith Orchard, Research Psychologist, and Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sussex. Faith will share her expert knowledge and insights into how sleep changes during adolescence, and how treatments for insomnia can be used to inform some simple healthy habits for improving sleep.

The ‘Professor Judy Dunn Webinar Series’ will disseminate the evidence-based research, on different mental health topics, to help parents and those working with children and young people.

This session will provide some background information regarding the changes that adolescents experience to their biological sleep patterns, and the consequences these changes can have on day to day function. The talk will outline some of the existing research which has examined whether adolescent sleep can be a risk factor for the development of anxiety and depression. Finally, the talk will discuss how families can support young people with their sleep, with some simple tips, as well as providing resources for further learning.

Key learning takeaways

  • To understand how sleep changes during adolescence
  • To understand current research findings on the relationship between adolescent sleep and mental health
  • To recognise how existing treatments for insomnia can be used to inform some simple healthy habits for improving sleep

About the Speaker

Dr. Faith Orchard is a Research Psychologist, and currently works as a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sussex. Faith’s primary research interest is to improve our understanding of the causes of child and adolescent anxiety and depression, with a focus on factors that could help to improve treatment options and outcomes. This has led to her conducting research over the past 7 years investigating the role of sleep in helping to improve wellbeing for teenagers. Faith is also the co-lead of a Research Clinic (funded by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust) as part of the West Sussex Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in Schools, which aims to evaluate the effectiveness of MHSTs whilst also developing and improving the delivery of low-intensity mental health interventions for schools.