Asleep on the Job - Australian Sleep Report
8 August 2017
The Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has this week released a Deloitte Access Economics Report ‘Asleep on the Job’ commissioned by Sleep Health Foundation.
The report found four in 10 Australian adults frequently suffered from inadequate sleep in past year costing the economy $66 billion in health costs and productivity losses.
This includes:
- 1.1 million people with sleep disorders like insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea
- 2.5 million people with health problems that affect their sleep
- 3.8 million people who routinely fail to get enough sleep, often suffering side effects of sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation was linked to 3,017 deaths in the past year including 394 deaths a year from falling asleep at the wheel of a vehicle or from industrial accidents due to lack of sleep. The remaining deaths are heart disease and diabetes deaths linked to sleep disorders*. Read more about the report here.
Such an epidemic of inadequate sleep comes at a cost. This report uses a careful, evidence-based approach to convincingly add up the many billions of dollars that poor sleep has cost the Australian economy in 2016-2017. The numbers are big, the personal and national costs are bigger and their consequences should not be ignored.
Emeritus Professor Dorothy Bruck
Chair, Sleep Health Foundation
If you are suffering from adverse effects associated with regular sleep problems, the Burnside Sleep Centre at Burnside Hospital can offer comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services for the full spectrum of sleep disorders. See our Sleep Centre page or speak to your GP about a referral.
* Excerpt from 'Asleep on the Job: Costs of Inadequate Sleep in Australia' courtesy of the Sleep Health Foundation
