SCIENCE COMMUNICATOR & SLEEP RESEARCHER
On a mission
to make you
less tired.
ABOUT
Vanessa Hill is an award-winning science communicator and sleep scientist. She is the creator of the hit YouTube and PBS series, BrainCraft, and the YouTube Originals special Sleeping with Friends, an entertaining reality show about improving your sleep. Vanessa's work on YouTube and in collaboration with public broadcasters in the US and Australia has helped make her one of the leading voices in science media.
Vanessa aims to bridge the gap between scientific research and people’s daily well-being, and is passionate about creating media that promotes health, sleep, and behaviour change. Vanessa hosted and produced 5 seasons of BrainCraft for PBS as well as short and long-form content for PBS, ABC Australia, Screen Australia, Nebula Originals and YouTube Originals.
Vanessa’s research uses psychology to better understand the relationship between sleep and technology. She is a leading expert on bedtime procrastination, and has written extensively about it in scientific journals and popular magazines. Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of New South Wales, a Masters of Science from Australian National University and is a PhD researcher at CQUniversity.
SHOWS
RESEARCH
Vanessa was inspired to study the relationship between health & tech after receiving thousands of comments from people using YouTube as a sleep aid. Her current research is focused on developing a habits-based behaviour change program for problematic screen use & bedtime procrastination.
Select Journal Articles
Hill, V. M., Rebar, A. L., Ferguson, S. A., Shriane, A. E., & Vincent, G. E. (2022). Go to bed! A systematic review and meta-analysis of bedtime procrastination correlates and sleep outcomes. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 101697. Link [$]
Hill, V.M., Ferguson, S.A., Vincent, G.E., & Rebar, A. L. (2023). “It's satisfying but destructive”: A qualitative study on the experience of bedtime procrastination in new career starters. British Journal of Health Psychology. Link [$]
Hill, V. M., Grant, W., McMahon, M. L., & Singhal, I. (2022). How Prominent Science Communicators on YouTube Understand the Impact of Their Work. Frontiers in Communication, 255. Link [open access]
SELECT PRESS
This Sleep Scientist’s Stylish Home Tour Is Full of Tips for Getting Better Rest
The Power of Sleep: How Technology Is Unlocking A New Era Of Sleep Health
Sleep Hygiene 101 with BrainCraft's Vanessa Hill
Re-Inventing The Way You Think About Sleep
How Vanessa Hill demystifies the brain through stop-motion animations
3 Science Entrepreneurs: How They Built Unique Science Careers
CONTACT
Vanessa lives between New York City and Sydney and is available to travel for speaking engagements and workshops.
Please reach out: hello (at) braincraft (dot) tv