Sleep Lab » News

Congratulations to Dr Pawley!

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:11:09 GMT

Congratulations to Michaela Pawley on passing her PhD viva! Michaela’s PhD showed that specific sleep behaviours in adolescence are meaningful risk factors for later self-harm and reported suicide attempts, making sleep health a potential target for prevention.

Congrats to Dr Nigel King

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 21:34:19 GMT

Dr Nigel King successfully passed his PhD by Published Work viva yestereday - with no corrections.

Nigel is consultant clinical neuropsychologist based in Oxford. His thesis brought together 8 of his published papers on mild traumatic brain injury and post-concussion symptoms. His work has made a significant contribution to advancing the field, particularly in terms of the assessment and treatment of MTBI.

Many congratulations, Dr Dr King. 🎉

Pain Concern - Pain Matters

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 12:58:00 GMT

Celebrating the 30th Anniversay of Pain Concern, the Pain Matters editorial team has put together a comprehensive evidence-based manual for navigating pain (issue #89). Our lab's updated leaflet - Getting a good night's sleep - was one of the featured articles.

Pocketmags offers a smart phone friendly digital version of the full Pain Matters. This is for a cost of £1.75/issue for subscribers. This comes with access to our whole digital back catalogue and audio option at no extra cost. Every subscription supports our work. At the end of October, issues 88 and 89 will become 'special' issues — and remain — free of charge on Pocketmags.

New paper by Michaela Pawley

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 11:07:00 GMT

Hot off the press! Click here for a summary or here for the full paper (open access).

Student successes!

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 09:16:07 GMT

Very happy that students in the lab are thriving and enjoying what they do! Occasionally, their daily grind gets recognised.

Congratulations to :

- Michaela Pawley for winning the PGR day best presentation award

- Peter To for securing funds to host and lead a R-workshop

- Lauren Wilkinson for winning the William Campbell Prize at the British Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting, Newport, Wales

What's it like to be a Data Impact Fellow?

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 10:05:00 GMT

Michaela Pawley wrote down her thoughts in her first blog post as a UK Data Service Impact Fellow. She reflects on her clinical and academic background, current PhD research, and future plans to expand her impact beyond academia.

What counts as a good night’s sleep? A NPR radio interview

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 14:21:00 GMT

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Professor Nicole Tang about sleep quality and why it's difficult to define and measure.

Prof Tang talks to the New Scientist

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 10:21:00 GMT

In response to our society's obsession about sleep, the New Scientist has published a series of articles exploring a more holistic view on the topic (22nd -24th Jan , 2025). Professor Tang spoke to Sophie Bushwick and was featured in the articles below:

"Highlight: We often obsess about nighttime routines for good sleep, but mounting evidence shows that what we do during our waking hours is also important – a more holistic view that could ease the modern pressure to create a perfect environment for when our heads hit the pillow"

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26535272-800-why-sleep-quality-is-so-important-and-so-difficult-to-measure/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26535273-000-what-nine-sleep-researchers-do-to-get-their-best-nights-rest/

New paper on mental defeat as a predictor of future suicide risk

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 09:33:00 GMT

Suicide risk is double in people experiencing chronic pain. What can be done to reduce this risk?

Our lab followed up people experiencing chronic pain for a year, and found those who feel most mentally defeated by pain (at the start) showed the greatest risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviour (at the end of the year). Existing symptoms of depression didn’t explain everything, instead they amplified the mental defeat-->suicide risk link. Implication: Mental defeat may be a worthy new treatment target for those struggling to cope with chronic pain.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejp.4779

New paper on self-compassion and chronic pain

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 10:00:06 GMT

Hot off the press. A new paper - brilliantly led by @jennalgillett.bsky.social and Arman Rakhimov - validates the use of the Self-Compassion Scale Short-Form in chronic pain and exploring its initial relationships with pain outcomes.

🧪Open access: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20494637241312070