Yaqoot Fatima

Some mornings, you wake up and the dream is right there. Clear and vivid. You might still feel the emotion in your chest, and it can take a few minutes to remember where you are and what was real.

Other mornings, you open your eyes and there is nothing. Just a quiet sense of having slept.

You might know people who think they do not dream. However, the reality is we all do. Sometimes we have many in one night.

What varies is whether people remember their dreams and how often they remember them.

For many families, the holidays mean sleep routines go out the window. Bedtimes drift later, screens stay on into the late evening, sleep-ins become the norm.

But as term time rolls around, parents start to dread what’s coming – getting overtired, half-asleep kids up, dressed and out the door on time.

We are experts in sleep health. With a little planning and patience, you can bring sleep back into your routine without turning bedtime into a nightmare.

It begins with two people, one blanket, and two very different ideas of what’s a comfortable sleeping temperature. By midnight, one partner is hot and sweaty while the other is freezing.

Sounds familiar? You’re not alone.

Many couples have nightly arguments over blankets or doonas, bedroom temperature and differing sleep habits. Poor sleep and relationship strain can follow.

So it’s no wonder couples are curious about the “Scandinavian sleep method”, which is having a moment on social media.

But what is it? And will it end your nightly “doona drama”, as TikTok suggests?

You’ve probably experienced it – your alarm is set for 6:30am, yet somehow your eyes snap open a few minutes before it goes off. There’s no sound, no external cue, just the body somehow knowing it’s time.

It might seem strange, but you didn’t wake up by chance. It’s your body clock at work – an amazingly precise internal timing system that regulates when you sleep and wake.

But how exactly does this built-in alarm clock work?

You’re gently drifting off to sleep when suddenly your arms and legs convulse and you jolt yourself awake. Or, perhaps you’re relaxing in bed when, out of the blue, your dozing partner does an almighty twitch, scaring you half to death.

This is called a hypnic jerk or sleep start. It is often accompanied by a sensation of falling or tripping over.

An estimated 70% of people will experience this at some point.

So, what causes the hypnic jerk? And can certain factors make it more likely to happen?

Last week, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved the weight-loss drug Mounjaro to treat sleep apnoea, a condition in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly during sleep.

The TGA has indicated Mounjaro can be used to treat moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea in adults with obesity (a body-mass index of 30 or above).

The United States Food and Drug Administration approved the same drug for sleep apnoea last year.

So how could this drug, most commonly used for weight management and conditions such as type 2 diabetes, help people with sleep apnoea?