World Sleep Day 2020

13 Mar World Sleep Day 2020

Happy World Sleep Day!

The message this year: Better Sleep. Better Life. Better Planet.

Our Lab Manager Phil called into our friends at ABC radio Brisbane at 5:30 this morning, he was so excited he could sleep! To have a listen follow this link:

https://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/breakfast/ 

There are a lot of resources on the World Sleep Day website if you want to read more about the event:

https://worldsleepday.org/toolkit

Here are a few of the points they raise:

• Most Sleep disorders are preventable or treatable, yet less than one-third of sufferers seek professional help
• Sleep problems constitute a global epidemic that threatens health and quality of life for up to 45% of the world’s population
• Three elements of good quality sleep are:
  • Duration: The length of sleep should be sufficient for the sleep re to be rested and alert the following day
  • Continuity: Sleep periods should be seamless without fragmentation
  • Depth: Sleep should be deep enough to be restorative

• Research shows that we spend up to one-third of our lives sleeping. Sleep is a basic human need, much like eating and drinking, and is crucial to our overall health and well-being.
• Sleep, like exercise and nutrition, is essential for metabolic regulation in children. There is evidence for a link between sleep duration and childhood obesity. The findings are more apparent in girls. Sleep duration is the effect of day-to-day variability of sleep-wake timing on weight regulation.
• Breathing regularly during sleep is critical to maintain well-being and health. Persistent interruption of the breathing function during sleep is called sleep apnoea. This is a pervasive and common disorder that affects 4% of men and 2% of women.

• Sleep apnoea causes daytime sleepiness and fatigue, and may lead to conditions such as hypertension, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
• Lack of sleep or poor quality sleep is known to have a significant negative impact on our health in the long and short term. Next day effects of poor quality sleep include a negative impact on our attention span, memory recall and learning. Longer term effects are being studied, but poor quality sleep or sleep deprivation has been associated with significant health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, weakened immune systems and even some cancers.
• Lack of sleep is related to many psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety and psychosis.
• Quality sleep is crucial to ensure good health and quality of life.