About
​What causes bad sleep? It's a simple question that you might already know the answer to: Caffeine, alcohol, anxiety, stress... The list goes on. But what if we flip the question and ask: What causes good sleep? Again, it seems like a simple question, but for some reason, the answers seem harder to come by. ​
This is because traditional sleep research has focused on the bad stuff - aiming to turn 'bad sleep' into 'ok sleep' through avoidance and restriction. In contrast, positive approaches focus on the good stuff - aiming to transform 'bad' or 'ok sleep' into 'good sleep' through promotion and cultivation.
But what exactly is the good stuff when it comes to sleep? ​What can we promote and cultivate to get the great night's sleep we all deserve?
In 2019, Dr Amber Tout set out to answer this question by exploring the characteristics of 'good sleepers'. Grounded in research, she founded Sleep Positive to share her findings.
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Dr Amber Tout, Founder
Dr Amber Tout is a chartered psychologist with over seven years of experience in sleep research.
Amber completed a scholarship-funded PhD at the University of Sussex, where her research explored the relationships between positive traits (such as gratitude, optimism, mindfulness and self-compassion) and good sleep quality and quantity.
As well as predicting how well we sleep in the present, Amber’s research has shown that positive traits also predict how well we will be sleeping in the future. This is because positive traits help to reduce negative thoughts and emotions associated with insomnia.
Amber also spent two years as a Research Fellow at the University of Warwick, where she worked with organisations across the UK to co-develop a new sleep management programme for shift workers.
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Psychology with Neuroscience BSc(Hons)
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Cognitive Neuroscience MSc
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Psychology PhD
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Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)
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Positive Psychology Practitioner Certificate (CPD certified)
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Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol, British Psychological Society)
