About Sleep

• Sleep disorders are common, affecting more than 1.5 million adult Australians
• 5-10% of adults have obstructive sleep apnea and 10 per cent have problematic insomnia
• 1 in 10 shift workers have shift work disorder, when their work schedule is out of sync with their body’s internal sleep‐wake clock
• 2% of adults have restless leg syndrome, and about 0.5% have REM sleep behaviour disorder, in which the sufferer acts out their dreams
• In Australia, the economic burden of disrupted sleep is significant, with a total health care cost of $818 million attributed to sleep disorders in 2010 alone
• Indirect financial costs including lost productivity, absenteeism, accidents and injuries, were estimated to be $4.3 billion

See Ron Grunstein’s Sleep Blog for the latest hot topics on Sleep