Landmark Australian research, carried out by REMinder Health, recently assessed the impact of inadequate sleep amongst employees. The results revealed that close to 40% of Australians experience insufficient or poor-quality sleep and just how much a poor night’s sleep impacts on employee wellbeing and productivity.
Of the 40% of poor sleepers in Australia:
• 5.8% reported suffering from a sleep disorder.
• 13.3% experienced excessive daytime sleepiness not due to a sleep disorder.
• 20.7% have regular insufficient sleep.
The REMinder Health study placed the national estimated cost of poor sleep at $1,283,267 annually through lost productivity, costs to the health system, motor vehicle and workplace accidents. The wellbeing costs to 40% of Australians experience poor sleep include loss of quality of life, loss of leisure, physical pain and reduced employment.
What Can Be Done?
As employers, there are a number of ways you can support your employees to achieve a better night’s sleep – the emphasis should be placed on:
• Raising awareness of the importance of sleep.
• Education on lifestyle choices that disrupt sleep (including the impact of lighting and technology on sleep).
• Detecting undiagnosed sleep disorders and/or other conditions that can cause poor sleep and ensuring effective and ethical treatment pathways for those who may need them.
Altius Group Workplace Wellbeing Programs encompass all areas of employee wellbeing, and while a focus on all elements of employee health leads to a better night’s sleep – we have developed two modules that look closely at sleep and digital health, to help your workforce sleep soundly.
Our Sleep Management and Fatigue module provides insights and strategies to improve sleep quality and help optimise sleep habits. Digital Health guides employees to find the right balance between helpful and unhelpful technology use. Current research reveals staggering associations between neuroplasticity, brain stimulation and technology use on how we act and interact, and how we sleep.
We’re also able to look at the sleep habits of your employees to tailor a sleep awareness and education program to focus on the sleep issues impacting your workplace.
