Dr Anna Weighall
BSc (Hons) in Psychology, DPhil in Psychology
School of Education
Reader in Psychology and Education
Research Governance Lead for Education
+44 114 222 3633
Full contact details
School of Education
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
- Profile
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Dr. Anna Weighall is a Reader in Cognitive and Developmental Psychology at the School of Education, with a cross-disciplinary focus encompassing Education and Psychology. She specialises in the intricate relationships between sleep, memory, and learning, along with spoken language development and vocabulary acquisition across different age groups and linguistic backgrounds. She is also an expert in sleep research, including the role of sleep in mental health and wellbeing.
- Qualifications
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DPhil Psychology, University of York
BSc (Hons) Psychology, University of York
- Research interests
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Dr. Weighall’s research employs a multi-faceted experimental approach aimed at understanding the complex interplay between sleep, memory, and language learning. Notable areas of focus include:
- Vocabulary learning among monolingual and multilingual speakers.
- Memory consolidation processes in typically developing children and those with learning disorders, such as dyslexia.
- The role of sleep in mental health and wellbeing.
- Application of implementation science to educational interventions.
- The symbiotic relationship between physical health and cognitive performance, and the development of interventions that holistically improve well-being and educational outcomes.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Children and young people’s preferences and needs when using health technology to self-manage a long-term condition: a scoping review. Archives of Disease in Childhood, archdischild-2023.
- Are syntactic representations similar in both reading and listening? Evidence from priming in first and second languages. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 77(1), 160-173.
- Sleep and memory consolidation in healthy, neurotypical children, and adults: a summary of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences, 7(5), 513-524.
- Nap effects on preschool children’s learning of letter‐sound mappings. Child Development.
- Paediatric narcolepsy: a review of diagnosis and management. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 107(1), 7-11.
- Psychoeducation intervention effectiveness to improve social skills in young people with ADHD: a meta-analysis. Journal of Attention Disorders, 26(3), 340-357. View this article in WRRO
- Evidence of objective sleep impairment in nonepileptic attack disorder : a naturalistic prospective controlled study using actigraphy and daily sleep diaries over six nights. Epilepsy & Behavior, 117. View this article in WRRO
- Impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on sleep. Journal of Thoracic Disease, 12(S2), S163-S175.
- Consolidation of vocabulary is associated with sleep in typically developing children, but not in children with dyslexia. Developmental Science, 21(5).
- A systematic review of cognitive function and psychosocial well-being in school-age children with narcolepsy. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 34, 82-93.
- Consolidation of vocabulary during sleep: The rich get richer?. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 77, 1-13.
- Eye-tracking the time‐course of novel word learning and lexical competition in adults and children. Brain and Language, 167, 13-27.
- Learning new vocabulary during childhood: Effects of semantic training on lexical consolidation and integration. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 116(3), 572-592.
- Online Lexical Competition During Spoken Word Recognition and Word Learning in Children and Adults. Child Development, 84(5), 1668-1685.
- Graphic imagery is not sufficient for increased attention to cigarette warnings: the role of text captions. Addiction, 108(4), 820-825.
- Consolidation of vocabulary is associated with sleep in children. Developmental Science, 15(5), 674-687.
- Enhanced recognition and recall of new words in 7- and 12-year-olds following a period of offline consolidation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 112(1), 56-72.
- The role of working memory and contextual constraints in children's processing of relative clauses. Journal of Child Language, 38(3), 579-605.
- The kindergarten path effect revisited: Children’s use of context in processing structural ambiguities. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 99(2), 75-95.
- Managing controversy through consultation: A qualitative study of communication and trust around MMR vaccination decisions. British Journal of General Practice, 54(504), 520-525.
- Consensus building using the Delphi method in educational research: a case study with educational professionals. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 1-15.
- When the daffodat flew to the intergalactic zoo: Off-line consolidation is critical for word learning from stories.. Developmental Psychology, 51(3), 406-417. View this article in WRRO
Conference proceedings papers
- Impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on sleep. Sleep and control of breathing
- 58 The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sleep and Anxiety of University Students. Abstracts
- P063 Sleep matters UK: exploring the relationship between sleep difficulties and quality of life in primary school children. Poster Presentations
- P062 Non-pharmacological interventions for sleep problems in neuro-typical children: a systematic review. Poster Presentations
- P061 Can non-pharmacological interventions for nocturia improve sleep outcomes? A systematic review. Poster Presentations
Preprints
- Grants
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SELECTED GRANTS & AWARDS
PI: A modelling and feasibility study of a Positive Early Childhood Education (PECE). The Nuffield Foundation. Weighall, A., Ian Kellar, I., Bowyer-Crane, C. £260.198. (April 2022 - February 2025)
Co-I: Using dynamic learning tasks to identify children at-risk of reading disorder. Nuffield Trust. Nash, H., Clarke & Weighall, A., 330K. (Jan 2019-Jan 2021)
Academic Lead: White Rose ESRC PhD Network (2015) “Understanding and enhancing reading and language skills in children learning English as an Additional Language (EAL)”, ~£170, 000 (October 2015 – Sept 2018)
PI: Promoting memory for newly learned words in adulthood: Comparing the effects of wakeful-rest and interference.Experimental Psychology Society Research Bursary, £2k, Weighall, A. (July 2015-Sept 2015)
Co- I: Low cost, long-term measurement of motor activity and REM sleep. ESRC White Rose Collaboration Fund. £10,893 (Wade, A., Weighall, A., Cairney, S., Burke, M., Bandmann, O, McNeill, A. (July 2015 – Sept 2016)
Academic PI: “Does adenotonsillectomy improve sleep in preschool children with sleep disordered breathing and does this lead to improvements in cognition?” £35K NHS R & D South Tees: Pump priming funding. Tremlett, M., Weighall, A. Nash, H. & Kellar, I. (April 2016 – Aug 2017)
Steering group member: ‘A Better Start Bradford’ Big Lottery, £49m. ‘Innovation Hub’ Language and Communication workstream. (Jan 2015 – Jan 2225)
Co-Investigator: “Sleep and language learning in dyslexia and co-occurring disorders”. The Waterloo Foundation. 51k. (PI Dr Lisa Henderson, York). (March 2014 – Feb 2015)
Co- Investigator: “Novel word integration in adults and children”. PI Professor Gareth Gaskell, University of York. Leverhulme Trust, £159,000. (co-wrote and co-managed the grant). (Sep 2010-Aug 2015).
- Teaching activities
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Dr Weighall teaches across the MSc Psychology and Education (Conversion) MA in Psychology and Education and BA. Key areas of teaching include:
- Developmental Psychology and language development
- Sleep in development
- The role of sleep in memory consolidation
- Quantitative Research Methods
- Neuroscience and Education
- Cognitive Psychology
- Professional activities and memberships
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Dr. Weighall’s professional contributions extend beyond academia. She serves on the executive committee of the British Sleep Society and holds memberships in the Experimental Psychology Society, The British Psychological Society, and the Royal Society of Medicine. Her work is integral to various thematic clusters within the School of Education, including Education and Psychology, Early Childhood Education, and Literacies and Language.
- Media Appearances and Contributions
Dr Weighall has made numerous media appearances on national TV and radio. She has also contributed to non academic publications and podcasts. These include:
- BBC Breakfast
- ITV Morning Live
- BBC Radio 4, Woman’s Hour: How to keep our memories sharp
- BBC Radio 4: PM
- Talk Radio: Eamonn Holmes show
- Local BBC and commercial radio
- Times Educational Supplement: Times Educational Supplement: Tes focus on...How sleep can help learning.
- Scope Disability Forum: Searching for sleep: what helps you beat insomnia?
- Naked Neuroscience podcast: Getting Serious on Sleep
- World Universities Network (WUN): Dreaming of a good night’s sleep