SLEEP DEPRIVATION WIDESPREAD
As more and more research is conducted on sleep around the world, among the most concerning findings relates to how much sleep human beings in the twenty-first century are having. In Australia, health professionals are placing the control of sleep deprivation at a similar level of concern as obesity and smoking. The Sleep Health Foundation has discovered that a third of people make mistakes in their jobs because they are tired, and approximately 20% have fallen asleep while they are driving.
According to research more than 10 per cent of Australians sleep less than five and a half hours at night and the importance of sleep is underestimated by the general public, respectively.
Between 33 and 45% of Australian adults perceived they sleep poorly or not long enough, leaving them fatigued and irritable.
44 per cent of Australian adults are on the internet right before bed — with 59 per cent of this group reporting suffering two or more sleep problem.
Poor sleep affects many areas of our life, for instance, physically, the affect on metabolism puts people in cardiovascular risk with issues such as hypertension, diabetes, stroke or heart attack. Emotionally, sleep deprivation and sleep disorders have been seen to contribute to significant relationship stress among bed partners. Driving whilst sleep-deprived increases the risk of traffic accidents as much as driving under the influence of alcohol.
The awareness of the presence of sleeping issues and daytime symptoms of fatigue have increased by up to 10 per cent since similar research was conducted in 2010.
So how do we get Australian’s to get enough sleep? Researchers argue that attitudes towards sleep need to change, such that talking about sleep is as important as talking about other health issues that have become topics of major concern among our society:
“We need a fundamental change in the way sleep is viewed by everyone from teenagers, parents and teachers through to bosses, doctors and our top politicians,”, says Dr David Hillman of the 2010 Sleep Health Foundation Survey.
References:
- Patrick Wood. ABC News Breakfast. Available on: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-08/sleep-study-finds-alarming-number-of-dozy-drivers-on-our-roads/8250780
- Cooper Luke. The Huffington Post. Available on: http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/02/07/australia-we-have-a-sleep-deprivation-problem/
- Sleep Deprivation. Herald Sun. heraldsun.com.au
