The Slumbr Journal

Journal

Evidence-based clinical writing on insomnia, sleep medicine, and the patterns we treat. Reviewed by an HPCSA-registered specialist physician with sleep-medicine training.

Blood pressure

Sleep Apnoea and Blood Pressure: The Link Worth Knowing About

Untreated sleep apnoea raises blood pressure, and it is a recognised cause of hypertension that resists treatment. What the evidence shows, honestly.

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20 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team

Diagnosis

Sleep Studies in South Africa: What Happens, and How to Get One

In-lab or at home, what a sleep study measures, what the result means, and the questions to ask about access and funding in South Africa.

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17 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team

Sleep apnoea

Snoring vs Sleep Apnoea: When Snoring Becomes a Medical Problem

Most snoring is noise. Some of it is a breathing disorder. A physician-led South African sleep clinic explains how to tell the two apart.

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13 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team

Screening

Do I Have Sleep Apnoea? The Signs That Actually Matter

Loud snoring, gasping awake, and exhaustion despite enough hours in bed. A physician-led SA sleep clinic explains the signs and when to get tested.

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10 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team

Melatonin

Prolonged-Release Melatonin: The Prescription Option for Insomnia After 55

South Africa's registered prolonged-release melatonin is prescription-only for insomnia after 55: 2 mg, 1 to 2 hours before bed, up to 13 weeks.

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6 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team

Evidence based

Melatonin vs Sleeping Tablets: Different Tools for Different Problems

One shifts your body clock, the other sedates you. Comparing mechanism, evidence, dependence risk and SA rules, and why CBT-I beats both long-term.

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6 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team

Dependence

Is Melatonin Addictive? Can You Take It Every Night?

Melatonin causes no dependence or withdrawal, and does not switch off your own production. But nightly use for months signals a different problem.

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6 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team

Children

Melatonin for Children and Teenagers: Why South African Doctors Are Cautious

US-style melatonin gummies are not the South African standard of care. What the SA-registered product information actually says about under-18s.

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6 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team

Circadian

Melatonin for Jet Lag: The One Use South African Law Lets You Buy It For

Jet lag is the one use SA pharmacists can sell melatonin for without a script. How to dose and time it properly for eastward and westward trips.

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6 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team

Evidence based

Why Melatonin Isn't Working for You: The Three Usual Reasons

Melatonin fails for three predictable reasons: the dose is too high, the timing is wrong, or your problem was never a body-clock problem to begin with.

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6 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team

Melatonin

Is Melatonin Available Over the Counter in South Africa?

Only for jet lag. Melatonin up to 6 mg daily is a Schedule 2 pharmacist sale; every other use needs a prescription. A physician-led clinic explains.

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6 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team

Evidence based

Melatonin Side Effects: Vivid Dreams, Morning Grogginess, and What the Data Actually Shows

Vivid dreams, morning grogginess and headache: what melatonin's side effects really are, how dose-dependent they are, and what SA trial data records.

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6 Aug 2026 · Slumbr Clinical Team