The Better Sleep Clinic

21/10/2026

🟡 CAUTION/NUANCE: Your sleep apnoea might be worse than your test showed.

Here's why: if you were tested on a weeknight, the test may have missed the peak.

Recent research dubbed it "social apnoea"
- OSA severity jumps 18% higher on Saturdays compared to Wednesdays.
- Weekend sleep-ins, alcohol, late meals, and irregular schedules all worsen breathing events during sleep.
- Weekend AHI (apnoea severity) runs 6% higher than weekdays
- Sleeping longer AND later on weekends? 55% higher OSA likelihood
- High night-to-night variability links to 34% increased cardiovascular risk

The problem? Most diagnostic tests capture just one night, often midweek. If your test showed "mild" OSA but you're still exhausted, this could be why.

The Bottom Line:
If you're testing for OSA, at least one night should include weekend data, paired with a sleep diary tracking your habits.

Are you using CPAP during the week but skipping weekends? That's exactly when you may need it most.

Read the full study 👇
https://read.thebettersleepclinic.com/fa833551-social-apnea

20/10/2026

Are Oura and other sleep tracking rings accurate for people with insomnia?

Here's what we're sharing in our latest post about Oura, sleep rings and insomnia.
It's based on a 2025 study that tested three rings against a full sleep lab test, in real sleep clinic patients.

- How far off can a sleep ring be on a single night, and how does this relate to "accuracy" the marketing touts?
- How much of your time lying awake does your ring actually notice?
- Why might a rough night show up as a decent sleep score?
- Can you trust the deep sleep and REM numbers in your app?
- Is the Oura ring more accurate than other sleep rings?
- When your sleep score and how you feel disagree, which should you believe?

Read more 👇

Sleep rings like Oura looked accurate on average for the whole group, but a sleep clinic study found big errors on single nights. What that means for insomnia.

19/10/2026

🟢 SAFE/GO: Can treating your insomnia actually slow down ageing?

A new study suggests the answer might be yes - but not in the way most people expect.
- UCLA researchers gave older adults with insomnia either CBT-I (the structured, evidence-based insomnia treatment) or general sleep education.
- Blood tests over two years showed the CBT-I group aged more slowly on a biological ageing clock
- The CBT-I group were nearly 3x more likely to get their insomnia into remission.

It's only one study, from one site, and needs replicating, but it adds to evidence that treating insomnia properly matters for more than just daytime fatigue.

The Bottom Line:
If insomnia has become "normal" for you, proper treatment (not just sleep tips) may support your health well beyond better sleep.

Read the full study 👇
https://read.thebettersleepclinic.com/aa7f462f-cbtiaging

14/10/2026

🔵 FYI: Did you know your skin has its own body clock - and bad sleep throws it off?

Turns out poor sleep doesn't just leave you tired. It may be affecting your skin too.

New research shows skin cells follow their own daily rhythm, tied closely to sleep and light exposure.
When sleep is disrupted - through insomnia, jet lag, or shift work - it can affect skin barrier function and inflammation, potentially playing a role in conditions like eczema and psoriasis, and even skin ageing.

Bottom line:
Good sleep isn't just about energy and mood - it may be part of keeping your skin healthy too.

Read the full study 👇
https://read.thebettersleepclinic.com/30417b562610-skin

13/10/2026

Are the newer Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonist (DORA) sleeping pills better than the old sleeping pills? 💤

We look at a recent review of 77 clinical trials on DORAs, the sleep medications sold as Belsomra, Dayvigo and Quviviq, to see what they do to sleep and what you might expect.
Here's what we're sharing:

- How do DORAs work differently from older sleeping pills like benzodiazepines and Z-drugs?
- How much extra sleep do they actually add each night?
- Do they stop you waking at 3 a.m., or just help you get back to sleep?
- Did people rate their sleep as much better on these sleeping pills?
- What are the most common side effects, and what happens when you stop?

Read more: https://read.thebettersleepclinic.com/DORA-Insomnia-fb

Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonists (DORAs) like Belsomra, Dayvigo and Quviviq are a new class of sleeping pills that block the brain’s wake signal. A review of 77 trials shows how much sleep they add, and what to watch for

12/10/2026

🟡 CAUTION/NUANCE: Is more sleep always better? Not quite.

A 30-year study found a surprising catch about sleeping 9+ hours.
- People who reported sleeping 9 hours or more had a higher risk of dying from any cause (about 17% higher).
- Those sleeping 6 hours or less showed no significant difference.

This is an association study, it doesn't prove anything.
Long sleep can be a sign of something else going on, like high blood pressure, depression or sleep apnoea, rather than the cause itself.
Sleep was also only asked about once.

Bottom line:
If you regularly need 9+ hours and still feel flat, get it checked rather than spending more time in bed.
If you don't sleep "8 hours" and you feel fine - don't stress.

Read the full study 👇
https://read.thebettersleepclinic.com/2a9c452c-long-sleep

07/10/2026

🟡 CAUTION/NUANCE: Is your parent's sleeping tablet doing more harm than good?

New research on insomnia in older adults looking at 22 studies found one option that works without the risk, and one that comes with a catch.

The catch:
- benzodiazepines and Z-drugs (like zopiclone) were linked to roughly 47% higher fall risk, plus concerns about memory and thinking.
- CBT-I, a structured programme that retrains sleep habits, improved sleep efficiency (time in bed actually asleep) and cut time awake in the night by about 23 minutes. Exercise and music therapy also showed benefit.
- if medication is need, DORAs, a new class of sleeping pills, had the best efficacy-safety balance, though the effect on sleep onset was modest

Results varied between studies, so it won't look the same for everyone.
Never stop a sleeping tablet suddenly.

Talk with the prescriber about a gradual plan and ask about CBT-I.

Read the full study 👇
https://read.thebettersleepclinic.com/18d10f39-older

07/10/2026

Waking up at 3 a.m. needing the bathroom, then lying awake for an hour? 🌙

Here's what we're sharing in our latest post about insomnia and nocturia, the medical term for waking up to p*e at night.

- Which comes first, the waking or the urination?
- Do people with insomnia really get up to p*e more often?
- What happens to your sleep when you have both?
- Could insomnia itself change how much urine your body makes overnight?
- Can treating insomnia cut down the bathroom trips?
- Should you tackle the insomnia or the bladder first?

If this sounds like your nights, read more 👇
https://read.thebettersleepclinic.com/urinate-fb

Waking to p*e, then lying awake for an hour? Research links insomnia to nearly double the odds of nocturia (nighttime urination), and treating one may help the other. Here’s why

29/09/2026

Stopped your sleeping pill and had a terrible first night? That might not be your insomnia coming back. 🌙

Here's what we're sharing in our latest post about rebound insomnia, and why the first nights off sleeping pills can be so misleading:

- Why is your sleep sometimes worse after stopping a pill than it was before you ever started?
- Can healthy volunteers with no sleep problems end up sleeping badly after stopping a sleeping pill?
- How long does rebound insomnia usually last, and which nights are the hardest?
- Are some sleeping pills more likely to cause rebound insomnia than others?
- How can you tell a short-lived rebound from a true relapse of your insomnia?
- What's the smartest thing to do before you stop a sleeping pill?

Read more 👇
https://read.thebettersleepclinic.com/rebound-insomnia-fb

Is your sleep worse since you stopped a sleeping pill? Find out what rebound insomnia is, why it happens, and how to tell it from your insomnia returning

23/09/2026

🟡 CAUTION: Living with chronic pain and bad sleep? Not all "sleep fixes" are equal

A major new review compared medications used for sleep problems in people with ongoing pain - looking at 98 studies and almost 29,000 people.

The standout:
- melatonin improved sleep without extra safety risks.
- other options, including stronger painkillers and nerve medications, also helped sleep, but came with more side effects and weaker evidence.

Bottom line:
- If pain is wrecking your sleep, ask your GP or sleep clinician about melatonin and non-drug options like CBT-I before reaching for something stronger. The side effects may not be worth the benefit

Read the full study 👇
https://read.thebettersleepclinic.com/a253d341-painmeds