Aussies 30 minutes short of a sound sleep
Australians are not getting enough shut-eye with a study showing that people only have seven hours and 30 minutes when they really need a full eight hours.
The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney recruited 3,300 people aged between 18 and 65 for the study which showed that the average amount of sleep came up half an hour short of the recommended eight hours to maintain a healthy mind and body.
Almost 20% of the participants slept for less than six hours and 30 minutes.
Daytime fatigue was a symptom for one in 10 people and most said they built up a sleep debt that they balanced on the weekend with long sleep-ins.
The research team found that chronic sleep deprivation could reduce a person’s immune function but that there was not real evidence to suggest there were harmful side-effects to restricted or disturbed sleep.
