While every day is a great day to celebrate sleep, World Sleep Day® this year held Friday March 15th, is a particularly good day! World Sleep Day was established to increase awareness surrounding MiniJumbuk's favourite topic: sleep. With sleep too often compromised by today's busy lifestyles, the day is intended to celebrate and promote the importance of all aspects of sleep.
In 2019, with a focus of 'healthy sleep, healthy aging', the World Sleep Day committee aims 'to lessen the burden of sleep problems on society through better prevention and management of sleep disorders.' Poor sleep has negative impacts on both health and quality of life: it is a major modifiable risk factor for obesity; research shows it affects attention span, memory recall and learning ability and it is estimated to have an economic cost of over 65 billion dollars per year in Australia alone.
Sleep requirements alter dramatically throughout our lives. Good sleep comprises three elements: it needs to be a sufficient length to feel rested, uninterrupted and deep enough to reach a restorative level. Education on the importance of sleep at each life stage can be the key to improving and maintaining both physical and mental health at every age especially considering that:
- Most sleep disorders and sleep related illnesses can be treated or prevented with assistance from medical professionals. (Current indications are that less than one third seek help.)
- Across the world, sleep related issues impact the lives of up to 45% of the population.
- Further research into sleep conditions will increase knowledge to improve outcomes for sufferers and society as a whole.
With this in mind the key messages for World Sleep Day are:
- Good quality sleep is the key to ageing well, through improved physical, cognitive and emotional health.
- Simply seeking help can be the first step to managing many sleep problems.
- Establish and maintain good sleep patterns early to protect against age related decline and minimise risks for obesity, hypertension, dementia and depression.
- Prioritise sleep for better health and lifestyle outcomes.