The ISLAND Sleep Study

The ISLAND Sleep Study is investigating sleep and health in the ISLAND project.

The ISLAND Sleep Study

The ISLAND Sleep Study is investigating sleep and health in the ISLAND project and is led by sleep scientist Samantha Bramich and Neurologist Jane Alty. It is particularly focused on a sleep disorder called ‘isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder’ or iRBD. This is a rare condition, but one in which people ‘act out’ what they’re dreaming, and it has been linked to the development of dementia and Parkinson’s disease in later life. We are investigating the prevalence of iRBD in Tasmania, as well as studying different profiles of movement and thinking in people with iRBD that could help us understand why they go on to develop these other diseases and how to prevent them. 

In 2022, we had over 2,900 ISLAND participants complete a range of online questionnaires asking about sleep, dreams, pain, body functioning and COVID infections. We are currently running our second project which is investigating smell loss and 24-hour activity patterns in people with and without iRBD, and our third project which involves having a sleep study in your own home and completing several movement and memory tests. Currently, this home-based project is only open to people who are likely to have iRBD (based on the 2022 questionnaires), as the studies will provide us with information on whether people do have this rare sleep disorder. This project will help us to determine the prevalence of iRBD in Tasmania, something that has never been investigated in Tasmania, or even Australia, before now.   

Team members: Ms Samantha Bramich, Associate Professor Jane Alty, Professor Anna King, Professor Sharon Naismith (University of Sydney), Professor Alastair Noyce (Queen Mary University, London), and Distinguished Professor James Vickers, along with other team members from the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, national universities and internationally. 

You can read our published papers by clicking this link to go to 'Our Publications' and filtering articles for Sleep Study.