Studies show that a significant number of us heading to work, would be better off heading back to bed.
And it’s costing us both health and money. Not to mention lives.
A Deloitte Access Economics health survey released on Tuesday shows that 39.8% of Australians don’t get enough sleep: with 4 in 10 Australians going to work tired each day. And 1 in 4 workers may be missing at least 1 day a week of work due to sleep disturbance or disruption.
And in 2016-17 sleep deprivation cost the economy an estimated $66.3 billion in health bills, lost productivity and wellbeing.
While the sleep issue itself is thought to be due to disorders like sleep apnoea, sleep deprivation is believed to be driving a rise in health conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and depression. Researchers from CQUniversity Australia, University of Adelaide, and Flinders University also looked into the impact of poor sleep, showing links with chronic illness such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
And a frightening number of Aussies are driving tired, with 1 in 5 road traffic accidents thought to be related to sleep-deprivation.
The report estimated that 7.4 million adults don’t regularly get the sleep they need. In 2016-17, 3,017 deaths were linked to sleep deprivation, 394 as a result of falling asleep at the wheel of a vehicle, or involved in industrial accidents due to lack of sleep.
Another recent survey showed that 29% of adults admitted to driving tired at least once a month, 5% admitted to having an accident in the past year, while 21% of men and 13% of women had fallen asleep at work in the past month.
Meanwhile, researchers from the University of Newcastle and the University of Queensland asked 5854 people aged 42 to 72 years old about their sleep and health, finding a connection between the 2.
Reporting their findings in the journal Maturitas, results showed about 31.2% of study participants were poor sleepers who also reported their overall health as “poor”. They also had the highest rates of obesity, had at least 3 chronic conditions, and/or psychological distress.
On the flipside, those people who felt healthier overall, had better sleep and were more active during the day.
Additionally, Australia’s Biggest Mental Health Check-in involved 3102 people aged between 18 and 8 and found that 39% of participants were depressed, with another 37% who were anxious. A lot higher than previously reported figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, at 6.1% and 14.2% respectively.
- Generation Z participants (aged 18-24 years) recorded the highest incidence of depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance, and shared the lowest scores of all age categories on trust
- Generation Y (25-34 year olds) were the next age group most likely living with a mental health illness
- Generation X (those aged 35-54) were the least likely to suffer psychological issues
So how much is enough?
According to the Sleep Health Foundation:
- children aged 3-5 should be getting between 10 and 13 hours of shut-eye every night
- kids need 8 to 10 hours between the ages of 6 and 13
- by adulthood we need between 7 and 9 hours’ of shut-eye
