Losing sleep: why Cairns residents are sleeping worse and what to do about it

More than one in three adults in Far North Queensland report sleeping poorly at least three nights a week, according to a new survey by the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service. That figure is up 12 percent from just three years ago, and local sleep physicians say the trend is accelerating.

The data, collected between March and June 2026 from 1,200 patients across the region, shows that the proportion of people getting fewer than six hours per night has jumped from 28 percent to 37 percent since 2023. Dr. Emma Tran, a respiratory and sleep physician at Cairns Base Hospital, told The Daily Cairns that the numbers mirror what she sees in clinic every week. “It’s not just fatigue,” she said. “We’re seeing more cases of insomnia, sleep apnoea, and circadian rhythm disruption than ever before.”

Experts point to several factors. The relentless humidity of the wet season, which lingered into late May this year, made it harder for many to fall asleep without air conditioning, which itself can dry out airways and fragment rest. But the bigger culprit, they say, is what happens before bed. Screens, late work emails, and the blurring of boundaries between day and night have rewired the brains of even the most disciplined sleepers.

Where the problem shows up in Cairns

At Rusty's Markets on Grafton Street, vendors start setting up by 4 a.m., and many say they’re running on empty. “I’m in bed by eight, but I’m awake by midnight,” said one fruit seller who asked not to be named. “It’s not just the heat. It’s my phone. I check it when I wake up, and then I can’t get back to sleep.” The pattern is common: blue light from devices suppresses melatonin production, a problem compounded by Cairns’ tropical latitude, where sunrise and sunset times shift less dramatically than down south, confusing the body’s internal clock.

Further out, the Atherton Tablelands has become a surprising focal point for sleep research. The Sleep Health Foundation, in partnership with the Malanda Community Health Centre, has launched a pilot program offering free cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia via telehealth. The program, which started in April 2026, has already enrolled 140 people. Participants track their sleep using a simple paper diary, not a phone app, deliberately avoiding screens. “The irony is we’re using technology to fix a problem technology helped create,” said program coordinator Lisa Keane. “But the paper diary forces people to be mindful.”

What actually works, and what doesn’t

A review of 47 clinical trials published last month in the Medical Journal of Australia found that the most effective non-drug interventions for chronic insomnia are not expensive gadgets or supplements. The strongest evidence is for stimulus control therapy, which involves getting out of bed if you can’t sleep within 20 minutes, and sleep restriction, which limits time in bed to actually sleeping. Both have been shown to improve sleep efficiency by 15 to 25 percent within eight weeks. Melatonin supplements, by contrast, worked only marginally better than placebo for most people, and only for those with delayed sleep phase disorder.

At the Cairns Wellness Centre on Shields Street, sleep coach Margot Bell runs a free fortnightly workshop called “Reclaim the Night.” The session focuses on three rules: no phones in the bedroom, no caffeine after 2 p.m., and a consistent wake time regardless of when you fall asleep. “The wake time is the anchor,” Bell said. “If you wake at 6 a.m. every day, even after a bad night, your body eventually learns.” She said attendance at the workshops has more than doubled since last year, with an average of 45 people per session.

The cost of the workshops is zero, a deliberate choice. “We don’t want anyone to think they need to buy a $500 sleep tracker or a special mattress,” Bell said. “The most powerful tools are free: your routine, your environment, and your commitment.”

For readers looking to improve their sleep, local health officials recommend starting with the basics: a cool, dark room, below 24 degrees if possible, and no screens for at least 60 minutes before bed. If problems persist, they advise seeing a GP for a referral to a sleep specialist. The Cairns Base Hospital sleep clinic accepts referrals without a waiting list for urgent cases, though routine appointments are currently booked about three months out.

The evidence is clear: the slide toward worse sleep can be reversed, but it won’t happen by accident. And in Cairns, where the sun rises early and the humidity never really leaves, the first step might be the hardest: putting the phone down.