The Sydney Morning Herald asks: Millions of Australians have insomnia, but why?
Things are so bad even politicians have noticed. In February, a House of Representatives committee established by health minister Greg Hunt held the Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia. It travelled to four states, took testimony from more than 60 experts, and received 130 submissions to tackle the country’s “looming sleep crisis”. And it’s not just a crisis of health. In 2016-17, inadequate and disrupted sleep cost the Australian economy $66.3 billion: $26.2 billion in financial costs and $40.1 billion in loss of wellbeing. This equates to about $9000 of lost shut-eye per sleepless person.
