By Andrew May

Sleep is as vital for the body as food and water, yet more than 60% of Australian adults are sleep deprived. Poor sleep impacts concentration and is detrimental to performance at work and has also been linked to increased risk of heart disease and obesity.

* Lost productivity due to sleep disorders costs Australia $2 billion a year, and America $35 billion (The Australasian Sleep Association)

* Fatigue was a contributing factor in 8% of accidents involving injury or death in NSW

* Over 1.2 million Australians experience sleep disorders

* New parents typically lose 450 to 700 hours of sleep in the first year

* The average person sleeps 1.5 hours less per night than we did 100 years ago

Causes of sleep deprivation include shift work, internet addiction and 24/7 digital connectivity, poor sleep hygiene, poor lifestyle choices and young children.

Tea with flowers after 3pm

Caffeine has a half-life of 5 to 6 hours and is a central nervous system stimulant so cut out caffeine from mid-afternoon.

Set Sleep Boundaries

Go to bed and get up at the same time each day. This will do wonders for re-setting your circadian rhythm (body clock).

Bed is for 2 things…

Use your bed for sleep and special cuddles. Avoid watching TV, using the laptop or processing work in your bed.

Recharge and Relax

Turn off the computer, mobile and TV one hour before you go to bed and consciously wind down before going to sleep.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 7:28 pm and is filed under mind. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.