At a recent event hosted by the Global Wellness Institute, I had the pleasure of hearing from Mehmet Oz, M.D. (better known as Dr. Oz). Not only was he a surprise speaker, he shared shocking statistics on key areas of health and wellness that are important for you and your clients. Who needs the Wizard of Oz when you have a surprise visit from Dr. Oz? He shared some of the latest updates from the Great American Sleep Survey, which has 20,000+ people participating and more than 1.5 million nights of sleep tracked and were truly eye-opening for me and the rest of the audience. “Time and how it passes through our body ends up being a pretty important predictor of our health,” says Oz. “Without a question, sleep is the most underappreciated problem.” Here are a few of his insights and statistics from the survey to help us appropriately appreciate sleep.
- 70 percent of the population sleeps less than the recommended seven hours
- Las Vegas residents have the earliest bedtimes
- New Yorkers go to sleep 3 minutes earlier than Angelinos
- All types of exercise benefit sleep, but only 30 minutes daily. Longer sweat sessions don’t provide added sleep benefits.
- Up to four cups of coffee won’t impact sleep, but drinking more than that takes away 26 minutes of sleep.
- A good mattress can add 20 minutes of sleep nightly.
- Simply paying attention and tracking your sleep can do wonders to improve it.
- The night of the election was the worst night of sleep ever recorded, and the poor sleep patterns have persisted on the coasts. “It is provocative to realize it is affecting us in a meaningful way,” says Oz.
Do you notice these factors impacting your own sleep? What helps you get consistent shut-eye?