Optimise your sleep

A personalised journey to optimise your sleep by learning more about sleep, evaluating your own sleep and applying basic principles of good sleep practise.
Target audience
Key target groups
- Individuals who are concerned that their poor sleep is impacting their school or work performance or their health
- Any person seeking to make changes to their sleep-related behaviours in order to improve their sleep
- People with a general interest in sleep and health
- Health professionals who would like to learn more about sleep
Course content
Asset | File | Duration |
---|---|---|
The basics of sleep - Part 1 | Animated PowerPoint MP4 Video | 11 min |
The basics of sleep - Part 2 | Animated PowerPoint MP4 Video | 16 min |
Public opinion: How important is sleep to you? | MP4 Video | 2 min |
Public opinion: How does a bad night sleep effect your day? | MP4 Video | 2 min |
Public opinion: How much sleep do you get per night? | MP4 Video | 2 min |
Public opinion: What stops you from sleeping well at night? | MP4 Video | 2 min |
PowerPoint PDF | PDF document | - |
References | Word document | - |
Module 1 - Assessment | Moodle Quiz | - |
Asset | File | Duration |
---|---|---|
Sleep and your health - Part 1 | Animated PowerPoint MP4 Video | 20 min |
Sleep and your health - Part 2 | Animated PowerPoint MP4 Video | 11 min |
PowerPoint PDF | PDF document | - |
References | Word document | - |
Module 2 - Assessment | Moodle Quiz | - |
Asset | File | Duration |
---|---|---|
Assessing your sleep | Animated PowerPoint MP4 Video | 23 min |
How to keep you sleep dairy | MP4 video | 8 min |
How to complete questionnaires | MP4 video | 11 min |
Your sleep dairy | Word document | - |
Sleep course questionnaire | Excel document | - |
PowerPoint PDF | PDF document | - |
References | Word document | - |
Module 3 - Assessment | Moodle Quiz | - |
Asset | File | Duration |
---|---|---|
Your sleep profile - Part 1 | Animated PowerPoint MP4 Video | 19 min |
Your sleep profile - Part2 | Animated PowerPoint MP4 Video | 22 min |
My sleep profile | Word doc | - |
PowerPoint PDF | PDF document | - |
References | Word document | - |
Module 4 - Assessment | Moodle Quiz | - |
Asset | File | Duration |
---|---|---|
Preparing to make sleep changes | Animated PowerPoint MP4 Video | 26 min |
Preparing your sleep haven | MP4 Video | 3 min |
PowerPoint PDF | PDF document | - |
References | Word document | - |
Module 5 - Assessment | Moodle Quiz | - |
Asset | File | Duration |
---|---|---|
Putting it all together | Animated PowerPoint MP4 Video | - min |
Short and long term effects of Sleep deprivation? | MP4 Video | 2 min |
How and why does sleep change as we age? | MP4 Video | 3 min |
How does our chronotype change over our lifespan? | MP4 Video | 3 min |
How does new parents manage their sleep? | MP4 Video | 5 min |
What is the role of sleep medication in sleep management? | MP4 Video | 8 min |
What is the hype around artificial light at night? | MP4 Video | 9 min |
How can we use light to optimise our sleep/wake cycle? | MP4 Video | 4 min |
What is the role of sleep trackers? | MP4 Video | 4 min |
What are some of the underlying reasons for daytime sleepiness? | MP4 Video | 6 min |
PowerPoint PDF | PDF document | - |
References | Word document | - |
Module 6 - Assessment | Moodle Quiz | - |
What will I learn
- Understand the perks of sleeping well and the consequences of not sleeping enough.
- Establish a better understanding of how well you currently sleep and how high your sleep debt is.
- Achieve tailored skills to improve your sleep.
- Start a 3-week sleep camp to pay off your sleep debt and reset your body clock.
- Conduct basic assessments of movement behaviours and skills with children and adolescents.
- You will learn the most common bad sleep habits and how to avoid them.
- You will learn how to keep a sleep diary and how to interpret the results.
Assessments
Each module will have four multiple choice questions. Students will have unlimited attempts to answer these questions. A certificate of completion will be issued once all of the assessments have been completed.
Course description
This course is designed for adults who are concerned about their sleep, and the consequences it may be having on their well-being, professional and even social lives. If you:
- are longing for a good nights sleep,
- regularly experience broken or disrupted sleep,
- can't remember when you last woke up feeling refreshed,
- feel unnecessarily sleepy or catch yourself dozing off during the daytime,
- or are wondering whether your poor sleep is impacting your well-being or daytime functioning, then this course is for you.
Requirements
Previous experience and knowledge is not required.
About the instructors
Dr. Dale Rae
![]() |
Dr Rae is a Senior Researcher at the Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport Research Centre, within the Faculty of Health Sciences, at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa and the Director of Sleep Science at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa. She obtained a PhD from UCT in 2007 and has worked at UCT ever since. Read more |
![]() |
Paula Pienaar is a Sleep Scientist and PhD candidate within the Faculty of Health Sciences, at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and a co-founder of Sleep Science at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa. Read more |
![]() |
Rob Henst is a co-founder and Sleep Scientist of Sleep Science at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, and a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Health Sciences. Rob is interested in sleep improvement strategies to help individuals lose weight and minimize the risk for developing non-communicable diseases. His areas of expertise include circadian rhythms and wearable technology. When Rob isn’t helping others sleep better, he spends time doing outdoors activities such as hiking and camping. Rob Henst grew up in the Netherlands, but now resides in Cape Town, South Africa. Read more |
Last modified: Thursday, 4 April 2019, 1:33 PM