Sleep and the Psychology Curriculum

Despite the obvious link between sleep chronobiology and psychology and the emerging evidence demonstrating the importance of sleep psychology, there is little in the way of education about sleep and sleep disorders in the current psychology curriculum, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. The aim of this chapter is primarily to provide a platform from which the reader can identify points at which sleep can be integrated into the psychology curriculum, either in part or as a stand-alone module. The chapter begins with an overview of the benefits, to both psychology and sleep research, of having sleep incorporated into the curriculum and then goes on to discuss the current situation with regard to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and learning, including vocational opportunities such as placements and rotations. The chapter ends with ideas and examples of how sleep education has been translated within this context and what a sleep psychology curriculum could look like with reference to some of the resources that are available.