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‘Crisis': Expert reveals secrets to how to get a flawless sleep

‘Crisis': Expert reveals secrets to how to get a flawless sleep

News.com.au6 days ago
A new report has revealed the extent of Australia's silent sleep epidemic, with one expert offering simple fixes for the nation's most common sleeping difficulties.
The Great Aussie Wake-Up, commissioned by Holiday Inn Express, found that 91 per cent of Australians struggle to fall or stay asleep in a typical week, and 93 per cent regularly wake up too early.
Sleep expert Olivia Arezzolo said the research showed the issue had progressed from a problem to a crisis.
But she said three core controllable elements could be implemented to form the foundation for good sleep.
'When you look at the biomechanics of the circadian rhythm, there are key factors which control it,' she said.
'Light is one, eating is another, and temperature is another.
Before adding the nice-to-haves, you need to get the essentials right first.'
In terms of food, Ms Arezzolo stressed the importance of having breakfast and warned against all too common late night snacking.
'I think a really big factor which is often overlooked, is there's this massive growth in intermittent fasting,' she said.
'It's one of the biggest trends of 2025 and this is meaning that a lot of Gen Z, but also just overall Aussies, are skipping breakfast. 

'The stat from the Holiday Inn research was that 76 per cent of Aussies are losing part of their morning routine and one in four are not eating breakfast.
'Breakfast is absolutely critical for circadian rhythm alignment. I'm sure you've heard that term with reference to light and temperature, but eating is also a regulator of the circadian rhythm.

'It essentially anchors the body clock. So in order to fall asleep with ease in the evening, we need to be having breakfast within the first hour of being awake.'
Ms Arezzolo said you ideally want three hours in between your last meal of the day and bedtime. For coffee it was a minimum of eight hours.
'I have a 2pm absolute latest cut-off time (for coffee), but ideally, you want nothing after 12 o'clock, especially if you're struggling to sleep.'
For light Ms Arezzolo recommended getting 20 minutes of light within 30 minutes of waking and staying away from blue light producing screens close to bedtime.
'Like eating, light is a factor controlling the circadian rhythm. 

'Essentially, if you're exposed to blue light in the evening, then you have the suppression of melatonin, which is your key sleep hormone to fall and stay asleep.
'This is akin to having a coffee before bed. As soon as you have that blue light enter your eyes, you have the biological signals to remain alert and awake.' 

Another key finding of the report was an overreliance on the snooze button with more than half (52 per cent) of Australians hitting snooze every morning.
Gen Z were among the worst offenders, with a massive 70 per cent regularly hitting the button – and one in ten tapping snooze at least 120 times a month.
'When you're hitting the snooze button regularly, every time the alarm goes off, you get a spike in your stress hormone cortisol,' Ms Arezzolo said.
'Too much cortisol leads to chronic states of anxiety, burnout, having that 'wired but tired feeling', being unable to sleep, and particularly 3am wakings.
'You're essentially setting your nervous system up to be on overdrive from the moment you wake up simply by pressing the snooze button, not just once, but multiple times. So that one is definitely alarming. Pardon the pun.'
Ms Arezzolo said in the course of her regular life, people are constantly asking her to fix their sleep however they tend to focus on alternative aids rather than focusing on the essentials.
'I'm like, 'okay, but tell me about your mornings and tell me about your evenings. What are you doing just before you're waking up and just before you're going to sleep? What are you doing just when you're waking up? Do you have the foundations right'? 
And nine times out of 10, they don't.
'You can't overlook these and then just pick and choose which sleep strategies you want to employ because you prefer that. It doesn't work like that.
It's biology.
'Circadian rhythm is controlled by light, temperature and eating. So you have to get these things right.'
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Woman says faecal transplant saved her and could help many more like her
Woman says faecal transplant saved her and could help many more like her

ABC News

time14 minutes ago

  • ABC News

Woman says faecal transplant saved her and could help many more like her

As the blender blitzed and Jane Dudley prepared for a radical procedure, the concept of being at the forefront of a potentially revolutionary change in the treatment of bipolar disorder was far from her mind. Mostly, Jane was thinking about how revolted she was by what was about to happen. But months after her husband Alex, a park ranger with a lifelong interest in ecology, first proposed the "gross" idea to Jane as a way of managing her crippling bipolar, she decided it was worth a try. "I was at a point of desperation where I felt I can't continue living with this level of suffering," Jane tells Australian Story. "It was a desperate act." Eight years ago, Jane began a series of home-administered faecal microbiota transplants (FMT), or "poo transplants", with the hope it would "take the edge off" her mental illness, which had led to her being hospitalised multiple times. The couple took Alex's faeces, blended it with saline, passed it through a sieve, put the slurry into an enema bottle and "then head down, bum up, squeeze it in". To Jane's astonishment, as the months went on, she began "to feel joy for no reason". "I started to have self-esteem for no reason," she says. "I started to have motivation." Now, all those years on from that first tentative blending, and without a manic episode since September 2017, Jane feels confident in saying she has been cured of an illness psychiatry labels incurable. It was a world-first use of FMT to cure bipolar and experts were stunned. Jane's psychiatrist, Russell Hinton, monitored Jane's progress during the treatment. He describes the change in Jane as "bordering on miraculous". Gordon Parker of the University of NSW's psychiatry faculty said Jane's recovery through FMT was one of the most exciting developments in his 50 years of psychiatry. 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It was November 2013 when Jane popped her arm through her raincoat and, as her hand emerged, there sat "a very beautiful frog". Transfixed, she found the name of a frog expert and sent off a message and a photograph to him. His name was Alex Dudley. Alex quickly advised Jane that the emerald-dotted frog was not rare or endangered, as she imagined, but a Peron's tree frog. A very common frog. But to the couple, it was a magical frog because from the moment they started talking, their lives were destined to be forever intertwined. "It was bafflingly fast. Before I even laid eyes on her physical self, I was confident that Jane was the one. We just connected," Alex says. Within the first 20 minutes of a 10-hour chat, Jane told Alex she had bipolar 1 disorder. He had a loose understanding of the mental illness but no concept of the extreme highs and lows that Jane experienced. 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"I would be talking to spirits … I would feel like I had godlike powers and that I was the chosen one," she says. Alex says it was only when Jane went into psychosis that he realised the severity of her mental illness. He still becomes emotional when he recalls the lows that Jane would reach. "She wasn't living … she wasn't living in a way that was sustainable," he says, choking back tears. Alex became desperate to help the woman he loved. "I never dreamed about running away from her or being frightened off by this. I was like, 'How can I help?'" he says. Alex knew that the gut biome — a range of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microbes in the gut — influenced the production of serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters that were crucial for mood and motivation. He recalled Jane's stories of being given large amounts of antibiotics over almost two years to combat her tonsillitis. He figured that her gut biome could have been starved and diminished by the antibiotics. 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Her university ambitions returned and, having completed high school at TAFE, she is now in the second year of an environmental science degree, with plans to become a field ecologist. Jane calls Alex the hero of her fairytale, a man whose unshakeable love for a broken woman led to a radical hypothesis that, in Jane's case, set her free. "Woman meets frog, frog leads woman to man, man and woman fall in love," she says. "Man cures woman's incurable illness with his magic poo, thus breaking the curse."

Why does everyone get sick so often in winter?
Why does everyone get sick so often in winter?

News.com.au

time6 hours ago

  • News.com.au

Why does everyone get sick so often in winter?

Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from This week, Dr Zac Turner explores why so many people get sick in the winter. QUESTION: Hi Dr Zac, Every winter like clockwork, my sharehouse becomes a snotty, coughing mess. I always assumed it was just because me and my flatties are inside more, but I read something about viruses surviving longer in colder temperatures. Is that true? And does the lack of sun during winter actually mess with our immune systems? – Matt, 29, Ballarat VIC ANSWER: Thanks for the question, Matt – and condolences to your household's sinuses. Winter really does bring with it a revolving door of colds, flus and respiratory infections. It's not your imagination. And while yes, spending more time indoors definitely helps viruses spread, the science of why we get sicker in winter runs a bit deeper – and chillier – than that. Let's start with the temperature. Many common viruses, including rhinoviruses (the ones behind most colds) and influenza, actually survive longer and replicate more effectively in colder, drier conditions. One study from the Journal of Virology found that some viruses become more stable and infectious in lower temperatures because the cold preserves the viral envelope – essentially giving them a longer shelf life while they search for their next victim (you). Add in the fact that we're all breathing the same stale air indoors, and it's a perfect storm: less ventilation, more close contact, and viruses that are thriving in the cold. Now, let's talk about vitamin D. This isn't some wellness influencer's pet obsession – it's genuinely important for your immune function. Vitamin D helps regulate immune responses, and deficiency has been linked to increased susceptibility to infections, particularly respiratory ones. In winter, shorter daylight hours and less skin exposure to UVB rays means your body produces less vitamin D naturally. In fact, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows nearly one in four Aussies have insufficient vitamin D during the colder months – especially in southern regions like Victoria and Tasmania. So yes, Matt: cold temperatures, indoor living, and low vitamin D levels all team up to make winter a bit of a microbial minefield. What can you do about it? • Maximise ventilation: Even cracking a window makes a difference. Let your house breathe. Get outside during daylight hours: A lunchtime walk could help top up your vitamin D – just 10–15 minutes of sun exposure to arms and face can help. • Eat immune-supporting foods: Fatty fish, eggs, mushrooms and fortified milks are great sources of vitamin D. And yes, supplements are helpful if you're deficient – but check with your GP before starting. • Practice good hygiene: Wash hands, cover coughs, and maybe don't share that water bottle with your sniffling housemate. A few smart habits can help make your winter less snotty – and keep your immune system in fighting form until the sun comes back. Stay warm, Dr Zac Dr Zac Turner is a medical practitioner specialising in preventative health and wellness. He has four health/medical degrees – Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Sydney, Bachelor of Nursing at Central Queensland University, and Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He is a registrar for the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, and is completing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering (UNSW). Dr Zac is the medical director for his own holistic wellness medical clinics throughout Australia, Concierge Doctors.

Shelly Horton on the dark truth about perimenopause
Shelly Horton on the dark truth about perimenopause

Daily Telegraph

time12 hours ago

  • Daily Telegraph

Shelly Horton on the dark truth about perimenopause

Don't miss out on the headlines from Celebrity Life. Followed categories will be added to My News. When Shelly Horton found herself in hospital with heavy bleeding in 2020, it never crossed her mind that her symptoms might have been due to perimenopause. The TV journalist hadn't even heard the word before, so she didn't connect it with the raft of physical and mental changes she had been experiencing at the time, including heart palpitations, heightened body temperature, brain fog and debilitating depression. Instead, the now 51-year-old had been told by doctors that she might have cancer, and was sent for an ultrasound – which revealed nothing. 'They said, 'Great news, you haven't got cancer. You must be stressed, and maybe you should take up a hobby,'' Horton recalls. 'I drove home in tears, blaming myself. I didn't go and see another doctor for nine months.' Media personality Shelly Horton has opened up about her health journey through perimenopause. Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar It was only when she spoke to her friend, menopause expert Dr Ginni Mansberg – who she first met while appearing on the Seven Network's breakfast show Sunrise in 2008 – that Horton was able to make sense of her suffering. Before that defining conversation, she hadn't considered herself in the target market. 'I thought menopause was for women in their late 50s, [when] their period stopped and they got hot flushes,' she recalls. 'I had that stereotype in my brain of grey-haired old ladies clutching their pearls and fanning themselves. 'I was like, 'I'm a fox. I'm way too young and fabulous.' 'I didn't understand that perimenopause can last for 10 years so, in fact, I was right in the average age group.' 'I didn't understand why anyone cared about my uterus and what I did with it.' Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar Once she got the right help and started to feel better, Horton got mad. Specifically about the menopause cone of silence, which perpetuates the poor treatment options and dearth of knowledge for women. 'We've been taught by our mothers and past generations that it's just women's problems so you keep it to yourself,' she tells Stellar. 'A heads-up would have been nice. I felt like the sisterhood had let me down. Secret women's business holds women back. This whole 'soldier on' of the Boomer generation, I'm like, 'No, I'm Gen X. We're going to get loud about this.'' In 2023, Horton shared her experience at the first parliamentary roundtable on menopause, alongside respected experts, in what was the first time 'menopause' had been mentioned inside the Parliament of Australia. It sparked a Senate inquiry, and Horton inadvertently became a spokesperson on the subject. Listen to a new episode of the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About below, featuring US author and podcaster Glennon Doyle: The Today Extra panellist reveals how she got through 'dark times' and rebuilt herself. Picture: Supplied It wasn't the first time that Horton had found herself leading the charge on destigmatising taboo topics for women. In 2013, when she wrote about her decision to stay child free, she copped a pile-on from dissenters and was trolled on social media. But she takes heart in knowing her words started a national conversation. 'I had comments like, 'A woman who doesn't want kids is not a real woman. She's a waste of a uterus.' It was awful,' she recalls. 'I didn't understand why anyone cared about my uterus and what I did with it.' As the TV presenter sees it, one of the many upsides of being child-free is having the freedom and funds to travel as she wishes. She and her husband Darren Robinson – who she met 'the old-fashioned way' in a bar in 2012 – renew their vows in every country they visit. In 10 years of marriage, that's 25 vow renewals. 'Sometimes it's been incredibly romantic, like in the Maldives with the sunset. Then we nearly forgot in Iceland and did it on the plane as we were taking off,' she says, laughing. The couple also run a production company together, Robinson behind the camera ('the workhorse') and Horton in front ('the show pony'). They share their home with rescue dogs Mr Barkley and Maui, whom Horton describes as a salve during her three years of depression. 'My wonderful husband would put me to bed and hand me a puppy.' Adhering to her own motto of 'adapt or die', Horton's career trajectory has been, as she puts it, eclectic. She was a producer for Entertainment Tonight in the US, a crime then health reporter for the ABC, a Sydney gossip columnist, a panellist on Today Extra, and host of Married At First Sight's spin-off TV show Talking Married. It's all a long way from home for the girl from Kingaroy in regional Queensland. Or, as she puts it, 'From the red soil to the red carpet.' Now she can add author to the list since she has documented her harrowing menopause experience – along with evidence-based advice from experts – in a book to support other women going through it. Despite enduring all the turmoils of menopause, Horton says the experience has also helped her. 'I wish I could just say, 'Slap on some HRT [hormone replacement therapy], you'll be fine,' but it's not as simple as that,' she explains. 'I had to do the work. I'd treated my body as a rental. I had to have the appointments with the psychiatrist. I had to change my lifestyle, improve my sleep, increase my exercise. I'm living proof that you can go through dark times and come out. Perimenopause broke me, but then I rebuilt me.' I'm Your Peri Godmother by Shelly Horton (Murdoch Books, $34.99) is out Tuesday. For more from Stellar and the podcast, Something To Talk About, click here.

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