John Groeger

John Groeger is a Professor of Psychology in the School of Social Sciences at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), appointed in June 2017. His roles encompass research leadership, management of Human Tissue work in Psychology, and direction of NTU's SleepWellScience sleep assessment service for trauma recovery. He actively teaches the final-year Psychology of Sleep module (PSY31010) and supervises undergraduate/postgraduate research.

A Chartered Psychologist and Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Groeger's academic journey includes professorial appointments at University of Surrey (1995-2008), University College Cork (2008-12, also Head of School), and University of Hull (2012-2017). His educational background features a PhD from Queen's University Belfast (1984) and prior work at the MRC Applied Psychology Unit in Cambridge.

His research centers on sleep-cognition interactions, investigating protective factors (sleep, aptitude, pharmaceuticals) and performance challenges (sleep loss, circadian disruption, brain injury) with real-world applications in driving, work, and daily activities. Recent work emphasizes disease-sleep bidirectional relationships, shift-work safety, and the neurological underpinnings of cognitive performance. His 80+ peer-reviewed publications and two books span sleep measurement, transport psychology, and neuropsychological assessment.

Current research trends show strong interdisciplinary focus on sleep-health connections across populations—from sexual minorities to children—with growing emphasis on environmental impacts (air pollution, socioeconomic factors) and biological mechanisms. Recent publications integrate microbiome studies, circadian genetics, and large-scale epidemiological analyses from UK Biobank.

• Fellow of the British Psychological Society
• Former honorary General Secretary of the British Psychological Society
• President of Traffic & Transport Division, International Association of Applied Psychology

Groeger provides expert consultation for Amazon, Continental AG, Manchester United FC, and others on sleep-performance relationships, while serving as an expert witness in transport accident cases involving fatigue and distraction. His SleepWellScience service bridges research and clinical applications for trauma recovery.

He leads multidisciplinary teams exploring the biological bases of cognitive performance, with current projects examining gut-brain axis effects on sleep, circadian mechanisms in neurodevelopmental disorders, and socioeconomic determinants of sleep health across the lifespan.