Perinatal Sleep & Wellbeing
For specialised support for new and expectant parents and professional training for health workers, please visit
www.sleepnatal.com.au
When people are pregnant and after they give birth, their sleep changes - this is normal. However, some people can experience ongoing challenges in getting to sleep or staying asleep, which affects how they feel during the day – this is called insomnia.
Poor sleep in parents can impact their families too. Left unaddressed, insomnia can continue for years but sleep treatments for new parents are practically non-existent.
During my PhD, I designed and led a three-arm clinical trial of two interventions to reduce insomnia among first-time birthing parents from 4-12 months postpartum. I delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (helpful habits and attitudes for sleep and wellbeing) and light dark therapy (timed exposure/avoidance of bright light). Over six weeks, both programs significantly and strongly reduced insomnia and sleep disturbance symptoms from the start to the end of the project.
I personalised the programs which were also largely self-led. This aimed to support parents to take the lead on their own sleep and wellbeing through an empowerment lens.
As the founder of Sleepnatal – a specialised perinatal sleep service – I offer personalised sleep support to enhance family wellbeing.
Practicality. Flexibility. Agency.
Click to read my research papers
Publications:
Presentations:
Verma, S. (2023, Oct 13). Postpartum Sleep: What we know and what we can do. In N. Lazareva (Chair), Sleeping well: The impact of sleep on mental health across the female lifespan [Symposium]. Inaugural Asia-Pacific Conference on Women's Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Verma, S., Pinnington, D. M., Manber, R., & Bei, B. (2022, Nov 9-11). Longitudinal changes in sleep timing and chronotype from pregnancy to 2 years postpartum. In Y. S. Bin and B. Sweeney (Chairs) Sleep in pregnancy, postpartum, and influences on infant sleep development [Symposium]. 33rd Annual conference of the ASA and ANZSSA, Brisbane, Australia.
Verma, S., Quin, N., Astbury, L., Wellecke, C., Wiley, J. F., Davey, M., Rajaratnam, S. M. W., & Bei, B. (2021, Oct 10-13). Cognitive behavioural therapy and light dark therapy for postpartum insomnia symptoms: A randomised controlled trial [Oral]. 32nd Annual conference of the ASA and ANZSSA, Brisbane, Australia.
Verma, S., Pinnington, D. M., Manber, R., & Bei, B. (2021, Oct 10-13). Sleep timing and chronotype in perinatal periods: Longitudinal changes and associations with wellbeing from pregnancy to 2 years postpartum [Poster]. 32nd Annual conference of the ASA and ANZSSA, Brisbane, Australia.
Verma, S., Quin, N., Astbury, L., Wellecke, C., Wiley, J. F., Davey, M., Rajaratnam, S. M. W., & Bei, B. (2021, Jun 10-13). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Light Dark Therapy for Postpartum Insomnia Symptoms: Findings from a Randomized Controlled Trial [Poster]. 35th Annual Conference of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.