Frequently asked questions

No. The Sleep Pattern Assessment™ is a structured screening tool, not a diagnosis. It helps identify which insomnia pattern your sleep most likely fits and routes you to the right next step — targeted non-prescription support, a specialist consultation, or medical review. A formal diagnosis can only be made by a clinician.

Adults aged 18 and over, resident in South Africa. Slumbr is not currently appropriate if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have untreated severe depression or psychosis, have a current substance use disorder, or have untreated sleep apnea. The assessment will route you to medical review where any of these apply.

No. Slumbr's Schedule 0 sleep-support products (the non-prescription range) can be purchased directly. A consultation is needed only for prescription medication. The assessment will tell you whether a consultation is recommended for your specific pattern, but it is never required to access the public range.

The Initial Sleep Consultation (R1,500) is a full first-time assessment — sleep history, medical and medication review, depression screen, screening for alarm symptoms (e.g. sleep apnea), discussion of behavioural strategies and product options, and a written plan.

The Follow-up Sleep Consultation (R1,200) is for patients already known to the clinic — reviewing how the current plan is working, adjusting dosing or formulation, refreshing a prescription within the 6-month review window, or safely stepping treatment down or off.

Online via Google Meet. After you book and pay, you receive a confirmation email with the Meet link, the time, and a short pre-consult intake form to complete before the call. There is no physical visit required.

Yes — prescription medication may be considered after a specialist sleep consultation, where it is clinically appropriate for your pattern. We never sell prescription medication directly to the public. Our in-house pharmacy dispenses any prescription written during a consultation and courier-delivers it to you. Each prescription is a clinical decision per patient.

We name medicines by drug class rather than brand on public pages — the specific molecule is agreed with your doctor during the consultation. The broad classes we work with are:

• Dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) — preferred class for the hyperarousal pattern
• Compounded low-dose H1-selective agent — Slumbr's flagship for sleep-maintenance insomnia
• Prolonged-release melatonin — first-line for adults 55 and over
• Short-course Z-drugs — short courses of less than 2–4 weeks, never on subscription, for breaking a defined crisis pattern

The full picture is on the relevant treatments pages. We are explicit about what we will not prescribe — high-dose benzodiazepines as first-line, off-label quetiapine for primary insomnia, and any combination not supported by the evidence.

Yes — Slumbr's Schedule 0 sleep-support products and most prescription medicines can be purchased on a monthly subscription at a lower per-month price than once-off. Subscriptions can be paused, skipped, or cancelled at any time from your account.

For prescription medicines, the subscription auto-renews monthly up to a maximum of 6 cycles, after which the SA Medicines Act 22A(6) requires a fresh consultation to continue. We build that legal cap into the subscription itself, so you are reminded automatically when it is time to re-consult.

Short-course Z-drugs are not eligible for subscription by design — they are dispensed as short courses of less than 2–4 weeks, and any repeat is a deliberate clinical decision.

Same product, two purchase options. Subscribe & save is roughly 15% cheaper per unit and auto-renews monthly until you cancel (or, for prescription items, until the 6-cycle cap). Once-off is a single delivery with no recurring contract; the per-unit price is higher because there is no auto-renew commitment.

Health data — your Sleep Pattern Assessment™ answers, intake form, consultation notes — is treated as special personal information under POPIA. We store only what is consented to, encrypted at rest and in transit, on infrastructure located in or compliant with POPIA's transfer rules. We do not share your health data with third parties for marketing. Your contact email (where you opt in to it) is used only for the Slumbr clinical newsletter and can be unsubscribed in one click.

Deliveries are couriered nationwide within South Africa. Packaging carries no medication names on the outside; the return address is "Slumbr Sleep Clinic." Typical delivery is 2–3 working days to the Johannesburg metro, 3–5 working days elsewhere. Free shipping on orders over R750.

Slumbr is an online clinic, so we work across all nine South African provinces — by secure Google Meet consultation and nationwide delivery. Choose your area to see how online sleep care works near you:

By province: Gauteng · Western Cape · KwaZulu-Natal · Eastern Cape · Free State · Limpopo · Mpumalanga · North West · Northern Cape

By city: Johannesburg · Cape Town · Durban · Pretoria · Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)

No. Slumbr does not provide emergency care. If you are in crisis or experiencing thoughts of self-harm, please contact SADAG on 0800 567 567 (24/7) or your nearest emergency department. For severe chest pain, breathlessness, neurological symptoms, or any acute medical emergency, contact emergency services or go to an emergency unit immediately.