Australians aren’t sleeping well. That’s not exactly breaking news — we’ve known for a while that sleep is one of our biggest collective health challenges. But a new report released this month by the Sleep Health Foundation paints a more detailed picture than we’ve had before, and some of the findings are genuinely surprising.

Let’s get into it.

The Numbers

The Sleep Health Foundation’s 2025 national survey, conducted in partnership with Deakin University, surveyed over 12,000 Australian adults. Here are the headline findings:

• 43% of Australian adults report sleeping poorly on at least three nights per week
• Average sleep duration has dropped to 6.8 hours on weeknights, down from 7.1 hours in their 2019 survey
• Shift workers report the worst sleep quality, followed closely by parents of children under five (no surprises there)
• Young adults aged 18-25 have the highest rates of sleep onset insomnia — difficulty falling asleep in the first place
• Regional Australians report slightly better sleep than their metro counterparts

The economic cost? The report estimates sleep deprivation costs the Australian economy approximately $66 billion annually in lost productivity, healthcare costs, and accidents. That’s up from $45 billion in their 2017 estimate.

The Rise of Sleep Tech

What’s interesting about this year’s data is the section on sleep tracking technology. For the first time, the survey included questions about wearable devices and sleep tracking apps, and the uptake is significant.

Around 31% of respondents said they regularly use some form of sleep tracker — whether that’s a smartwatch, a ring device like Oura, or a phone app. Among 25-40 year olds, that number jumps to 47%.

But here’s the complicated bit: the research on whether sleep trackers actually improve sleep is mixed.

A 2024 study from the University of Melbourne found that people who used sleep trackers reported higher “sleep awareness” but not necessarily better sleep. In some cases, tracker use was associated with increased anxiety about sleep — a phenomenon researchers have dubbed “orthosomnia,” or the obsessive pursuit of perfect sleep data.

When Data Helps and When It Doesn’t

I wear an Oura ring. I’ve tracked my sleep for about two years now, and I find it genuinely useful — but with caveats.

The data helped me identify patterns I couldn’t see on my own. I noticed that alcohol, even one glass of wine, consistently disrupted my deep sleep. I noticed that evening yoga improved my heart rate variability overnight. I noticed that my sleep quality tanked during high-stress work periods, even when I was getting enough hours.

Those insights were valuable. They gave me information I could act on.

But I’ve also had to learn to not obsess over the numbers. A “bad” sleep score used to ruin my morning. I’d wake up feeling fine, check my ring, see a low score, and suddenly feel tired. That’s orthosomnia in action, and it’s a real trap.

The key is using the data as a general guide, not a verdict on your night.

What Actually Improves Sleep (According to the Evidence)

The report reinforced several evidence-based strategies that consistently show up in sleep research:

Consistent wake time. This matters more than bedtime. Waking at roughly the same time every day — including weekends — is the single strongest behavioural predictor of good sleep.

Morning light exposure. Getting natural light within the first hour of waking helps regulate your circadian rhythm. Australian summers make this easy. Winter mornings in Melbourne or Hobart, less so — but even overcast daylight is significantly brighter than indoor lighting.

Temperature management. Your body needs to cool down to fall asleep. The ideal bedroom temperature is between 16-19 degrees Celsius. In a Queensland summer, that means air conditioning or at minimum a good fan.

Caffeine cutoff. The half-life of caffeine is roughly five hours, but its effects on sleep architecture can last much longer. The report recommends no caffeine after 2pm for most adults.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). For chronic sleep issues, CBT-I remains the gold standard treatment — more effective than medication in the long term, with no side effects. It’s now available through several Australian telehealth platforms.

The Tech and Wellness Intersection

What I find encouraging is how technology is starting to meet people where they are with sleep support. AI-driven sleep coaching apps are getting more sophisticated, offering personalised recommendations based on individual data rather than generic advice.

Some Australian businesses are also starting to take employee sleep health seriously. A few forward-thinking organisations have brought in specialists — including teams like AI consultants Brisbane — to help design workplace wellness programs that incorporate sleep health data while respecting employee privacy.

It’s a tricky balance. Nobody wants their employer monitoring their sleep. But creating workplace conditions that support good sleep — reasonable hours, manageable workloads, shift scheduling that respects circadian science — that’s the kind of structural change that makes a real difference.

What I’d Love to See Next

The Sleep Health Foundation report is valuable, but I’d love to see future surveys dig deeper into the intersection of sleep and socioeconomic factors. We know that financial stress is one of the biggest sleep disruptors, and with cost of living pressures hitting Australian households hard, that connection deserves more attention.

For now, if you take one thing from this: protect your wake time. Keep it consistent. Everything else can build from there.

And if you’re lying awake at 2am reading this on your phone — put it down, love. It’ll still be here in the morning.

If sleep problems are significantly affecting your daily life, talk to your GP. The Sleep Health Foundation also has free resources at sleephealthfoundation.org.au.