Hunrosa: Digital solutions to sleeplessness

Helping parents and health care professionals resolve sleep problems in young people
An EPIC project
Promotional image showing the Sleep Well App on a smart phone screen.
Do you spend your nights endlessly counting sheep? Sleeplessness can cause a variety of health problems, with serious long-term effects on our physical and mental well-being. That’s where the experts come in… An NHS-commissioned and private sleep consultancy, Hunrosa offers individual sleep therapy for all ages, as well as training courses for businesses, charities, schools and colleges, and the NHS. Their Sleep Wise app helps parents and health care professionals resolve a young person’s sleep problem, using the child’s average sleep per night as a starting point.
With partners including the NHS, NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group, and Children and Family Health Devon, Hunrosa’s work fit with EPIC ’s goals of finding digital solutions that offer cost saving benefits to the NHS as well as providing remote support to people living in rural locations.
Background
Hunrosa founder Jan Jenner became interested in sleep research through her work as a researcher for the Department of Health. She has been conducting research since 2008, and is an accredited Sleep Consultant, trained in CBT for sleep and to degree level in paediatric sleep clinical practice.
Jan set up Hunrosa in 2014 to help combat sleep issues among young people, which can seriously impact health:
  • Sleep affects growth and stress hormones, immune system, appetite, breathing, blood pressure and cardiovascular health.
  • Lack of sleep increases the risk for obesity, heart disease and infections.
  • Recent studies also reveal that sleep can affect the efficiency of vaccinations: research shows that well-rested people who receive the flu vaccine develop stronger protection against the illness.1
How has EPIC helped Hunrosa?
Hunrosa has been collaborating with EPIC since the first iteration of the project, benefiting from multiple areas of support. A Challenge Fund grant of £12,000 has enabled them to begin working on an additional sleep diary function within the Sleep Wise app, enabling users to provide vital information about their sleep habits to help diagnose issues. EPIC has arranged an online baseline review for Hunrosa’s Sleep Wise app through ORCHA and is facilitating an accessibility audit through Purple to ensure that the app is widely available to all users.

As a small business owner, you’re always doing several things and one of the extra things you don’t need is to have to chase people. The great thing about EPIC is the team doesn’t just leave you to it. It’s felt like it’s been a journey that EPIC has been with me on together. All the business support has been really helpful and the workshops in the EPICentre have been great. The digital marketing workshop was the first event I attended after the pandemic and it was just so lovely to attend in person, but also the way it was run was great. Kirsty was so welcoming and I thoroughly enjoyed it– having the option to attend the workshops online is brilliant too.

Said founder Jan. 
She was also extremely impressed with the Challenge Fund application process. 

Sometimes you put in applications for things and just hear ‘no’ and you think ‘Well, can I have some feedback?’ The nice thing about EPIC is that Ben worked with me on it, and you got the feeling that he really wanted you to get there in the end. People at EPIC have been very realistic and very positive and very encouraging.

What’s next for Hunrosa?
The Sleep Wise app is currently available to purchase on the Google Play and Apple App Store and based on user feedback, Hunrosa is working on an adding a sleep diary within the app itself to provide users with helpful information about their sleep habits. Initially developed for children with additional needs, the company is finding that the app has a wider general use among parents and teens. Hunrosa is also developing Sleeptasia - an educational game/activity add-on that parents or carers can use while helping children with sleep issues.
Based on feedback from ORCHA, the company has used some of the Challenge Fund money to pay for a solicitor to adjust their privacy policy and obtain registered professional accreditation for their website. They are hoping that ORCHA sign-off will enable them to finalise a verbal agreement with Cornwall NHS to purchase multiple copies of the Sleep Wise app. In the near future they hope to pass the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) requirements and become part of the NHS app library.
Hunrosa hopes to continue their involvement with the University of Plymouth after EPIC has concluded and is corresponding with the School of Psychology regarding student training and clinical placements, assisted by EPIC researcher Samantha Prime.
With sleep issues being cheaper and easier to treat than other physical and mental health issues and additional suicide prevention benefits, Hunrosa is hoping to expand their services throughout the South West, in addition to continuing private training, along with their work with organisations such as Community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
“The vast majority of sleep issues can be resolved without medication,”
says Jan.
“We’ve worked out a really neat way of providing sleep information to CAMHS in particular but also paediatrics and the NHS and they get the fact that it saves them money.”