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Photographs from Project Meeting held in March 2009 > Photos

SomnIA is a four year NDA Collaborative Research Project (CRP) which addresses practice and policy relevant issues arising from the nature, impact and management of the sleep-wake balance in later life. It will extend and 'join up' strategically targeted areas of sleep research relevant to understanding and improving autonomy, active ageing, and quality of later life. 

The SomnIA interdisciplinary research team comprises partners from six disciplines and four institutions - sociology (Sara Arber/Rebekah Luff/Robert Meadows/Susan Venn, Surrey), psychology (Kevin Morgan, Loughborough), neuroendocrinology (Debra Skene/Benita Middleton, Surrey), engineering (Roger Orpwood, Bath), nursing (Ingrid Eyers, Surrey) and medicine (David Armstrong, King's College London), together with consultants in health economics (Heather Gage), medical statistics (David Lovell) and clinical psychology (Maureen Tomeny). 

SomnIA is working closely with five project partners: Philips Lighting, North Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust, Healthtalkonline (formerly DIPEx, University of Oxford), The Relatives and Residents Association, and Help the Aged. These project partners are providing detailed advice, access to research settings and products, and assisting the dissemination of results.

The project commenced in December 2006, and the project launch meeting took place in March 2007. Click here for photographs of the launch >>

New Dynamics of Ageing Initiative
This four year Collaborative Research Project is funded under the New Dynamics of Ageing Initiative by the five UK Research Councils (AHRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, ESRC and MRC). Grant number RES-339-25-0009. The NDA initiative is a seven year research programme, and is the largest and most ambitious research programme on ageing ever mounted in the UK.

Aims of the Project (in brief)

To understand the meanings and determinants of poor quality sleep among older people in the community and in residential settings.
To develop cost-effective approaches to non-pharmacological self-management of sleep problems among older people with chronic disease
To evaluate their acceptability to users and assess their cost-effectiveness
To develop web-based user-friendly information and advice for older people with sleep problems


Click here for further information >>