Researcher Details
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Research Interests:About Shay
Dr Shay-Ruby Wickham is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, specialising in adolescent sleep, digital behaviours and wellbeing.
Her research explores how sleep, screen use and mental health intersect during adolescence, with a particular focus on understanding the everyday experiences of young people and developing practical, evidence-based ways to support their sleep and wellbeing.
A key focus of her work is to translate scientific evidence into meningful solutions that work for young people and their whānau. Ultimately, her research aims to improve sleep, strengthen wellbeing and help young people thrive.
Current Research Projects
REST - An Optimisation trial testing different components of an online sleep intervention for adolescents
Whakamoeariki - Understanding how a Matauranga Māori online sleep intervention could help whānau (families) with pepi (baby) in Aotearoa New Zealand
Navigating Our Digital Nights – Randomised cross-over trial testing the relationship between sleep and different types of screen use
Awards
- Emerging Researcher Award, Australasian Sleep Association, 2026
- New Investigator Award, Sleep in Aotearoa 2024
Journal - Research Article
Meredith-Jones, K. A., Haszard, J. J., Galland, B. C., Wickham, S.-R., Brosnan, B. J., Russell-Camp, T., & Taylor, R. W. (2026). Screens, teens, and sleep: Is the impact of nighttime screen use on sleep driven by physiological arousal? Journal of Sleep Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/jsr.70288
Taylor, R. W., Haszard, J. J., Wickham, S.-R., Galland, B. C., Russell-Camp, T., Jackson, R. F., Brosnan, B. J., & Meredith-Jones, K. A. (2026). Sleep, dietary intake, and physical activity: Examining bidirectionality using repeated-measures analyses. Journal of Adolescent Health. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2026.07.030
Brosnan, B., Meredith-Jones, K. A., Haszard, J. J., Wickham, S.-R., Galland, B. C., Russell-Camp, T., & Taylor, R. W. (2025). From dusk to dawn: Examining how adolescents engage with digital media using objective measures of screen time in a repeated measures study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition & Physical Activity, 22, 4. doi: 10.1186/s12966-024-01698-0
Gu, C., Jackson, R. F., Meredith-Jones, K. A., Wickham, S.-R., Brosnan, B., Haszard, J. J., Galland, B. C., & Taylor, R. W. (2025). Pre-bed screen use, activity and food in relation to sleep in youth: A repeated measures study. Pediatrics Open Science, 1(3), 1-10. doi: 10.1542/pedsos.2025-000765
Tang, C., Meredith-Jones, K., Haszard, J. J., Signal, T. L., Wickham, S.-R., Muller, D., Taylor, R., & Galland, B. C. (2025). Adolescents’ next-day perceptions of their sleep quality, quantity, sleepiness and sleepiness-related symptoms relative to actigraphy metrics. Sleep Medicine, 133, 106605. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2025.106605
Brosnan, B., Haszard, J. J., Meredith-Jones, K. A., Wickham, S.-R., Galland, B. C., & Taylor, R. W. (2024). Screen use at bedtime and sleep duration and quality among youths. JAMA Pediatrics, 178(11), 1147-1154. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.2914
Bartonicek, A., Wickham, S. R., Pat, N., & Conner, T. S. (2021). The value of Bayesian predictive projection for variable selection: An example of selecting lifestyle predictors of young adult well-being. BMC Public Health, 21, 695. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10690-3
Fletcher, B. D., Flett, J. A. M., Wickham, S.-R., Pullar, J. M., Vissers, M. C. M., & Conner, T. S. (2021). Initial evidence of variation by ethnicity in the relationship between vitamin C status and mental states in young adults. Nutrients, 13, 792. doi: 10.3390/nu13030792
Wickham, S.-R., Amarasekara, N. A., Bartonicek, A., & Conner, T. S. (2020). The big three health behaviors and mental health and well-being among young adults: A cross-sectional investigation of sleep, exercise, and diet. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 579205. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.579205
Journal - Research Other
Brosnan, B. J., Wickham, S.-R., Meredith-Jones, K. A., Galland, B. C., Haszard, J. J., & Taylor, R. W. (2023). Development of a protocol for objectively measuring digital device use in youth. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 65(5), 923-931. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2023.05.004