10 reasons to make sleep health your priority
2025’s World Sleep Day theme is Make Sleep Health a Priority.
Sleep health is a multidimensional pattern of sleep-wakefulness, adapted to individual, social, and environmental demands, that promotes physical and mental well-being. Good sleep health is characterized by subjective satisfaction, appropriate timing, adequate duration, high efficiency, and sustained alertness during waking hours.
When it comes to sleep health, getting enough* sleep isn’t a substitute for getting good quality sleep. Eight hours of light sleep might technically be ‘enough’ but if you’re not cycling down into REM and deep sleep you’ll miss out on most of the restorative benefits. That’s why it’s important to prioritise healthy sleep for mental health, cognitive function, physical well-being, and happiness. And if you’re not getting enough sleep or quality sleep? Here’s ten very compelling reasons to make sleep health a priority for 2025.
1 – Humans are the only mammals that deliberately delay sleep
Delaying sleep can disrupt the body’s clock and lead to a slew of physical, mental and emotional consequences. Sleep is a biological imperative: if you’ve ever tried to negotiate with an overtired baby or a hangry teen, you’ll know how quickly everything deteriorates when people don’t do what their body tells them. Source.
2 – Sleep disorders and mood disorders are closely intertwined
People with insomnia are 10 times more likely to have depression and 17 times more likely to have anxiety. This relationship is bi-directional: insomnia can cause mood disorders, which can cause insomnia. Source.
3 – Sleep plays a crucial role in regulating blood sugar levels
Adults who get less than seven hours of sleep per night are at increased risk for Type 2 diabetes due to impaired glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. People with both anxiety and insomnia have a 40% higher risk of developing T2 diabetes than people without these conditions. Source.
4 – People who sleep less tend to eat more
Lack of sleep causes a number of physiological changes, including an imbalance of hunger hormones leading to increased appetite, an increase in the blood chemicals that make us crave high calorie foods, and changes to brain activity that lead us to respond more positively to the idea of food (and we’re not talking about salad…) Source.
5 – The effects of sleep deprivation are similar to the effects of alcohol intoxication
Research consistently shows that sleep deprivation impairs cognitive and motor function similarly to alcohol intoxication. The level of impairment from being awake for 17-19 hours is equivalent to having 5 standard drinks, while being awake for 24 hours has a similar effect to 10 standard drinks. Combining sleep deprivation with alcohol leads to even greater impairment, and studies have indicated that people who are sensitive to the effects of alcohol may be more vulnerable to sleep deprivation. Source 1, 2.
6 – Sleep debt takes a lot longer than you think to pay off
It takes more than a week to recover from a period of sleep deprivation. A recent study found people still hadn’t fully recovered from 10 days of 30% less sleep (a difference of 5 hours 18 minutes vs 7 hours 37 minutes) over 7 days later. In fact, of all behavioural, motor and brain activity measures studied, only reaction time was back to baseline by the end of the recovery period. Source.
7 – Sleep debt takes a lot longer than you think to pay off
Insufficient sleep means your brain doesn’t get the opportunity to repair cells, reduce inflammation, or clear out the harmful proteins that can contribute to – and accelerate – neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease. Source.
8 – Sleep debt takes a lot longer than you think to pay off
People can survive much longer without food than they can without sleep. If water is available, your body can survive for several weeks on its stored energy sources, while lack of sleep will lead to physical and cognitive decline within days. Source.
9 – Sleep debt takes a lot longer than you think to pay off
The longest recorded time spent awake is 18 days, 21 hours and 40 minutes, recorded by Robert McDonald in 1986. As of 1997, Guinness no longer encourages or monitors attempts to break this record, due to the extreme health risks posed by sleep deprivation. Source.
10 – Sleep debt takes a lot longer than you think to pay off
There are 80-90 recognized sleep disorders, ranging from insomnia to narcolepsy. In Australia, the estimated overall cost of sleep disorders in 2019-2020 was $35b, with financial costs accounting for $10b, productivity losses costing over $7b, and healthcare costs accounting for just under $1b. Source.
So for all these reasons – and more – make sleep health your priority, and invest in a healthier, happier you for 2025!
* How much sleep is actually enough? It depends. 7-8 hours is recommended for adults, but individual needs vary and too much sleep might be just as harmful as too little. May the odds be ever in your favour.
