Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Career to Date
Dr Tracey Sletten completed her PhD at the University of South Australia examining the effects of shift work and fatigue in the field operations of aviation and rail. Her primary research incorporated large-scale investigations of the sleep/wake behaviour and occupational fatigue of several hundred commercial flight crew working long-haul flight patterns from Australia. Further to research, Dr Sletten held a consultative role, conducting training and education, analysing work shifts and conducting fatigue assessments for numerous transportation and emergency services operations within Australia and internationally.
Between 2005 and 2008 Dr Sletten held a post-doctoral position with the Centre for Chronobiology at the University of Surrey (United Kingdom) where some of the groundbreaking work in circadian photoreception has been conducted. She examined the effectiveness of different wavelengths of light to improve alertness and mood and shift the phase of human circadian rhythms. During this period Dr Sletten was also a Visiting Fellow in Chronobiology and Sleep Research at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Switzerland. Dr Sletten has also held a Research Fellow position with the Division of Sleep Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Dr Sletten was the former Chair of the European Sleep Research Society Forum for Women in Sleep Research and co-Chair of the Australasian Sleep Association Chronobiology Council.
Research Focus
Dr Sletten’s current research focus is in the role of sleep and the circadian system on waking function. Core topics include the impact of sleep loss and circadian misalignment on sleepiness and neurobehavioural performance, phenotyping and treatment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders, applications of lighting to enhance alertness, and the alertness and mental health outcomes associated with shiftwork. Dr Sletten has worked with numerous sectors employing shift workers including healthcare, heavy vehicle transport and international aviation. Dr Sletten has conducted large-scale field assessments of sleep, circadian phase, cognitive functioning and psychological health in expeditioners over-wintering in Antarctica.
Honours and Distinctions
2012 – Australasian Sleep Association Helen Bearpark Scholarship for Visiting Fellow position at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area keywords
- Sleep
- Sleep loss
- Sleep deprivation
- Circadian rhythms
- Light
- Shift work
- Fatigue
- Sleep disorders
Network
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Zest – A personalised, digital intervention for sleep and wellbeing in Australian shift workers
Varma, P., Murray, J., Stone, J., Booker, L., Sletten, T., Bei, B., Postnova, S., King, K., McNaney, R., Wilson Rajaratnam, S., Walker-Bone, K., Phillips, A. & Howard, M. E.
1/02/23 → 31/01/26
Project: Research
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CBTI-Shift: Piloting an Adaption of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia for Shift Workers (CBTI-Shift)
Dietch, J., Manber, R. & Sletten, T.
4/07/22 → 17/01/24
Project: Research
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Police Sleep, Shift Work and Wellbeing Project
Wilson Rajaratnam, S., Wolkow, A., Drummond, S., Sletten, T., Roberts, K. & Dormer, A.
16/05/22 → 31/10/25
Project: Research
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Understanding the role of light exposure in individual differences in the circadian response to shift work
Sletten, T., Wilson Rajaratnam, S., Lockley, S., Postnova, S., Howard, M. E. & Facer-Childs, E.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Australia)
1/01/21 → 31/12/23
Project: Research
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SWIFt Study: Shifting Weight using Intermittent Fasting (the SWIFt study): A novel weight loss intervention in overweight shift workers
Bonham, M., Banks, S., Huggins, C., Coates, A., Dorrian, J., Kellow, N. & Sletten, T.
1/01/19 → 30/06/24
Project: Research
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Prevalence of sleep disturbance and the association between poor disease control in people with ankylosing spondylitis within the Australian clinical setting (ASLEEP study): a real-world observational study using the OPAL dataset
Tymms, K., Butcher, B. E., Sletten, T. L., Smith, T., O’Sullivan, C., Littlejohn, G., Sadler, R., Tronnberg, R., Griffiths, H. & on behalf of the OPAL consortium, Apr 2022, In: Clinical Rheumatology. 41, 4, p. 1105-1114 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Sleep, alertness and performance across a first and a second night shift in mining haul truck drivers
Ganesan, S., Manousakis, J. E., Mulhall, M. D., Sletten, T. L., Tucker, A., Howard, M. E., Anderson, C. & Rajaratnam, S. M. W., 2022, In: Chronobiology International. 39, 6, p. 769–780 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Study protocol for the Shifting Weight using Intermittent Fasting in night shift workers (SWIFt) study: a three-arm randomised controlled trial comparing three weight loss strategies in night shift workers with obesity
Rogers, M., Coates, A., Huggins, C. E., Dorrian, J., Clark, A. B., Davis, C., Leung, G. K., Davis, R., Phoi, Y. Y., Kellow, N. J., Iacovou, M., Yates, C. L., Banks, S., Sletten, T. L. & Bonham, M. P., Apr 2022, In: BMJ Open. 12, 4, 15 p., e060520.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Other › peer-review
2 Citations (Scopus) -
The association of schedule characteristics of heavy vehicle drivers with continuous eye-blink parameters of drowsiness
Shekari Soleimanloo, S., Sletten, T. L., Clark, A., Cori, J. M., Wolkow, A. P., Beatty, C., Shiferaw, B., Barnes, M., Tucker, A. J., Huda, M. M., Anderson, C., Rajaratnam, S. M. W. & Howard, M. E., Oct 2022, In: Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 90, p. 485-499 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
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The effectiveness of an individualized sleep and shift work education and coaching program to manage shift work disorder in nurses: a randomized controlled trial
Booker, L. A., Sletten, T. L., Barnes, M., Alvaro, P., Collins, A., Chai-Coetzer, C. L., McMahon, M., Lockley, S. W., Rajaratnam, S. M. W. & Howard, M. E., 2022, In: Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 18, 4, p. 1035-1045 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
4 Citations (Scopus)