Mike works part-time as a test centre administrator. He has noticed a change in his sleep as he has got older, noticeably that he has periods of deeper sleep, but he doesn't believe he sleeps any longer than he used to. Mike noticed his sleep changed when he first had children, and finds that pattern has continued.

Valerie often wakes up in the night and can't get back to sleep. This means she will be very tired by the early evening, but will try not to go to bed too early because she doesn't want to waste the evening.

Joyce is a retired Tailoress, although she still does quite a lot of dressmaking and sewing. She has been widowed for about 7 years and has two children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren, who mostly live quite nearby. Joyce's sleep first changed when her husband died, and now she finds she wakes up quite a lot in the night. She does believe sleep is important and would like to be able to sleep right the way through, even if only for six hours.

In addition to her formal career, Juliet has had a range of voluntary jobs such as Chairman of the Preschool Playgroup Association. Juliet was also employed as an Ofsted Lay School Inspector. Juliet is an avid silver surfer and thoroughly enjoys online shopping and writing emails. She has had rheumatoid arthritis for about 15 years and has also been diagnosed with diabetes, both of which interfere with her sleep.

At the time of his interview Robert had recently lost his wife and was still trying to cope with the aftermath of her illness and his subsequent bereavement. Robert has found that he wakes up quite a lot in the night and hopes that, with time, his sleep pattern will settle back into the routine he had before his wife was ill. Robert likes to keep very active and enjoys engineering problems and making things. He has recently started to cycle again.

Mary is a retired Secretary and travel organiser. She lives on her own, but has a daughter and grandchildren living nearby. Mary likes to keep very active during the day and helps with looking after the grandchildren. She also attends Keep Fit and Tai Chi and likes to sew and do crafts. Mary believes sleep is very important and would like to have more sleep, but also feels that she doesn't want to waste time sleeping as there are so many things she enjoys doing.

Sue B. lives on her own in a small, friendly village. She has 4 children and 7 grandchildren. She recently gave up her job as a provider of supplies to pre-school groups, but still works part-time making scarves which she sells through Craft Fairs. Sue B. is very active, often taking several walks a day, sometimes swimming and bicycling. She is also a retired Church Warden. Sleep is very important to Sue B., and she loves waking up after a very good night's sleep.

Mary often finds it very difficult to get to sleep, sometimes taking up to an hour to fall asleep. Mary finds that relaxation and meditation exercises help her to fall asleep, and help her get back to sleep if she wakes up in the night. Even if she has not had a good night Mary finds it impossible to take a nap during the day, although she may put her feet up in bed to have a rest instead. Mary hasn't been to the doctor about her sleep, but has tried some over the counter remedies.

Ronald finds he usually gets about 6 to 7 hours sleep a night, but this is disturbed by having to get up and go to the toilet. Although he usually drops off to sleep straight away, occasionally he finds he can't get to sleep, or wakes up in the night and can't get back to sleep, so on these occasions he tries counting sheep, but this doesn't always work. Ronald noticed a change in his sleep pattern when he took early retirement because of health problems, and the change in his daily routine.

Vicky gave consent for her daughter to take part in a clinical trial when attending a routine clinic visit. The trial was a randomised trial on the way information is given to young people with diabetes.

• Clinical trials parents: long-term health conditions