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Sleep

We spend about a third of our lives sleeping, yet many of us have problems with sleep from time to time. Sleep problems can be caused by many things, including changes to your routine, stress, shift work, medical conditions, hormonal changes and sleep disorders.

It’s natural to have imperfect sleep every now and then, especially in times of stress. It’s helpful to lower your expectations of sleep so temporary sleep problems don’t become long-term problems.

Learn more about why sleep is important, how to improve your sleep, common sleep problems and when to see your doctor.

Why is sleep important?

Sleep is impor­tant for good health and well­be­ing through­out your life. While you sleep, your body works to keep you healthy. Sleep helps with cell repair, brain devel­op­ment, learn­ing and mem­o­ry. It helps clear out tox­ins that build up in your body dur­ing the day and restores ener­gy. Sleep also helps with car­dio­vas­cu­lar health, metab­o­lism, inflam­ma­tion and men­tal health. Learn more about how much sleep you need and what you can do to improve your sleep.

Sleep problems

Almost half the adults in Aus­tralia say they have sleep-relat­ed prob­lems. Com­mon prob­lems include find­ing it hard to fall asleep, wak­ing many times in the night, snor­ing and wak­ing up feel­ing unre­freshed. If you often feel sleepy, tired or irri­ta­ble dur­ing the day you may also have a sleep prob­lem. Learn more about what can cause sleep prob­lems, how poor sleep can affect your health and when to see your doctor.

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This con­tent has been reviewed by a group of med­ical sub­ject mat­ter experts, in accor­dance with Jean Hailes pol­i­cy. It has been pro­duced in part­ner­ship with the Sleep Health Foun­da­tion.

© Jean Hailes Foun­da­tion. All rights reserved.