Big Sleep Survey Update!

Following our earlier report of The Big Sleep Survey some preliminary analysis of results have been released. These results are a brief overview but give a good description of the problems being faced with modern demands of technology and lifestyle.

A quick analysis of the data by the Big Sleep Survey team has revealed that most of us are walking around tired and that 40% of us cuddle up with a good book at the end of the day.

WHO DID THE SURVEY?

Roughly twice as many women than men signed up.
A large number of participants were aged under 29. The largest group surveyed were aged 11-18 years, representing the largest study of adolescent sleep habits in Australia.

OUR SLEEP HABITS

According to the Big Sleep Survey, more than 50% of participants say they feel tired a few days each week.

When we take gender into consideration, 58% of women  versus 47% of men feel tired.  Women said they were not getting enough sleep.

The average night sleep of people doing the questionnaire was 7 hours.

NAPS AND SLEEPING IN

A whopping 70% of us rarely take a nap.  Solid evidence, that the European culture of the siesta does not exist in Australia.  Of those who do manage to sneak in a nap during the day, most slept for between 25-60 minutes. Only 4% of people napped regularly. While we might not be a country of nappers, we do like to make up for it at the end of the week: 43% of participants said they would always sleep in on the weekend.

DO WE SLEEP ALONE?

Half surveyed share a bed, with 48% stating they have a bed partner, 42% saying they didn’t, and 10% admitting they had one occasionally. 

25% of participants had pets in their bed at least a few nights a month.

Yet only 9% of those with children had a child in their bed that often.

Do pets make better bed fellows? Are children easier to train? Or maybe they take up too much space?

AT BEDTIME...

So what do we usually do when we go to bed?

• 40% cuddle up with a good book

• 17% of us like to watch TV or a DVD

• 17% like to spend time with their partner

TECHNOLOGY IN THE BEDROOM...

Almost a third of participants kept a mobile phone in their bedroom at night. 15% of people had TVs, laptops, iPods and radios in the bedrooms.

Is this modern technology in our bedrooms affecting our sleep? That question is undergoing further analysis.

 40% slept with an electronic device that could wake them, it seems the majority of people are never woken up by a ‘beep’ or a ‘brrring from their mobile in the night.

Only 1% of participants said they were woken every or almost every night by an electronic sound or alert.

4% of people check their messages every night, however 90% of participants said they would never or rarely do so.

Is the lure of modern technology keeping us from sleeping? Almost 25% admit to watching TV, using their computer or playing with their mobile during the hours that they should be sleeping.

STATE VS STATE

An analysis to check for differences amongst the Australian states found a few.

Tasmania and Western Australian were the only states where participants were more likely to say they were getting the right amount of sleep.

Northern Territorians were most likely to feel tired – almost a third of them reported feeling tired most days.  55% of Northern Territorian participants say they sleep in on the weekends, compared with 38% of Queenslanders .

South Australians take the hat for grumpiness – over 8% of the South Australians who did the questionnaire reported feeling irritable every or almost every day.

Further analysis is underway with our sleep colleagues at the Woolcock Institute in Sydney. Watch this space…