Iced Tea
10-28-05, 10:18 PM
CTV.ca (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051028/sleep_deprived_051028/20051028?hub=Canada) says
Almost half of Canadians are sleep-starved: poll
CTV.ca News Staff
If you're chronically cranky and unproductive at work, the simple solution could lie in getting more sleep.
A new Decima survey finds almost half of Canadians polled admitted being less effective at work because of consistent and chronic sleep deprivation.
And nearly one-third of respondents said that they spend between three and 10 hours of their work week struggling to stay awake.
"Those numbers are pretty staggering," said Gary Baskerville of the Better Sleep Council told The Globe and Mail.
The survey was conducted on behalf of the council, a non-profit organization backed by the mattress industry.
Baskerville says few Canadians get the seven to eight hours of quality sleep the average person needs each day. The deficiency builds up, he says, and can't be erased by "catching up" on the weekend.
"Just getting one good night's sleep doesn't make up for nights and nights of short sleep," he said.
Although half of the respondents surveyed admit they ''sleep-walk'' during the day and that their work productivity suffers as a result, almost no one said they call in sick after a poor night's sleep.
People in the office may wish they did, however, as the survey found that men are likely to take out their frustrations on their co-workers.
Women, on the other hand, are more likely to lash out at loved ones.
Baskerville said the reason behind the chronic, nationwide problem with sleep starvation may be that too many Canadians are trying to fit too many things into a day. They say they want more sleep, but are unwilling to change their patterns, he said.
Sleep expert Dr. Helen Driver told the Globe that approximately 18 per cent of people suffer from insomnia, meaning that roughly one-fifth of people had a bad night's sleep last night.
"We're living in a sleep-deprived society, people are sleep-restricted," she said from Kingston, Ont. "The question to ask is whether you sleep more on the weekend. If you're doing that you're not getting enough sleep."
The phone survey of 1,000 Canadians was conducted from Oct. 13 to Oct. 17. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.Interesting. I know I need 8 - 9 hours or else I'm a bear to work with. I can also sleep 12 hours on my days off if I work too hard the previous week.
I'm currently all screwed up on my sleep pattern because of not working, going to bed at 8 AM and sleeping until 4 PM. I need to correct that.
I must sound like a pr!ck talking about sleeping all the time but I am injured and have not much to do until I heal up.
But I do know a lot of people who burn the candle at both ends and are walking around like zombies. One or two need to work two jobs but the rest partying every night and then their work suffers.
Almost half of Canadians are sleep-starved: poll
CTV.ca News Staff
If you're chronically cranky and unproductive at work, the simple solution could lie in getting more sleep.
A new Decima survey finds almost half of Canadians polled admitted being less effective at work because of consistent and chronic sleep deprivation.
And nearly one-third of respondents said that they spend between three and 10 hours of their work week struggling to stay awake.
"Those numbers are pretty staggering," said Gary Baskerville of the Better Sleep Council told The Globe and Mail.
The survey was conducted on behalf of the council, a non-profit organization backed by the mattress industry.
Baskerville says few Canadians get the seven to eight hours of quality sleep the average person needs each day. The deficiency builds up, he says, and can't be erased by "catching up" on the weekend.
"Just getting one good night's sleep doesn't make up for nights and nights of short sleep," he said.
Although half of the respondents surveyed admit they ''sleep-walk'' during the day and that their work productivity suffers as a result, almost no one said they call in sick after a poor night's sleep.
People in the office may wish they did, however, as the survey found that men are likely to take out their frustrations on their co-workers.
Women, on the other hand, are more likely to lash out at loved ones.
Baskerville said the reason behind the chronic, nationwide problem with sleep starvation may be that too many Canadians are trying to fit too many things into a day. They say they want more sleep, but are unwilling to change their patterns, he said.
Sleep expert Dr. Helen Driver told the Globe that approximately 18 per cent of people suffer from insomnia, meaning that roughly one-fifth of people had a bad night's sleep last night.
"We're living in a sleep-deprived society, people are sleep-restricted," she said from Kingston, Ont. "The question to ask is whether you sleep more on the weekend. If you're doing that you're not getting enough sleep."
The phone survey of 1,000 Canadians was conducted from Oct. 13 to Oct. 17. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.Interesting. I know I need 8 - 9 hours or else I'm a bear to work with. I can also sleep 12 hours on my days off if I work too hard the previous week.
I'm currently all screwed up on my sleep pattern because of not working, going to bed at 8 AM and sleeping until 4 PM. I need to correct that.
I must sound like a pr!ck talking about sleeping all the time but I am injured and have not much to do until I heal up.
But I do know a lot of people who burn the candle at both ends and are walking around like zombies. One or two need to work two jobs but the rest partying every night and then their work suffers.