Sleep and society – a fatal paradox?

The Resmed’s 2025 Global Sleep Survey is out and has drawn a remarkable conclusion.

“t’s a paradox of modern life—sleep quality is falling short even as its value is being increasingly acknowledged.”

This sentence in Resmed’s 2025 Global Sleep Survey was the one that concerned me personally the most. Although I am not surprised by the figures themselves, it is this paradox that I was not so aware of in its sharpness.

Sleep, nutrition and breathing are the basic physiological needs that we deal with in our society as if they were a nuisance. We are the only species that puts these basic needs behind everything.

What exactly did the study reveal?

First of all, the following aspects that particularly concern me

• Over half of Gen Z (53% ) stated that anxiety affects their sleep.

• 42% build up a dependency on digital devices.

• Over 60% of Germans are of the opinion that their employer does not value their sleep health.

• 71% of working people have called in sick at least once due to poor sleep.

The primary losses for employers

• Lower productivity

• Lower commitment

• Increased fluctuation rates

• Hidden costs due to absenteeism and presenteeism

But let’s take a closer look at the study.

Resmed 2025 Global Sleep Survey

The 2025 ResMed Global Sleep Survey examined the sleep patterns of people worldwide and found, unsurprisingly, that many suffer from insufficient sleep. Although many people achieve the recommended minimum sleep duration of seven hours, almost three nights a week are unsatisfactory. However, it must be said that this is now an average, as some people spend five days with poor sleep, while others may only spend one day.

Alarmingly, 22% of respondents would not seek help for poor sleep and would live with it; in the USA, Japan and Singapore this figure rises to 33%, and in Australia to 41%. This realization really touched me. What exactly is behind this? Unfortunately, the study itself says nothing about this.

Global sleep situation according to ResMed

• On average, people worldwide experience only four nights of good sleep per week.

• 57% of respondents have difficulty sleeping three or more nights a week.

• 46% have problems falling asleep.

• The main causes of poor sleep are stress (31%), financial burdens and anxiety.

• In Germany, 61% of respondents stated that stress has a negative impact on their sleep.

Effects of sleep quality

Report after a bad night

• 51 % from excessive daytime tiredness,

• 48 % in a bad mood,

• 36 % of irritability,

• 31% of headaches.

Conversely, good nights lead to

• better mood (42%),

• improved concentration (41 %) and

• increased productivity (35 %).

Influence on the world of work

• 71% of working people have called in sick at least once due to poor sleep.

• Nevertheless, almost half of those surveyed believe that their employer does not attach any importance to their sleep health. In Germany, over 60 % are of this opinion.

Gender-specific differences

• Women experience an average of 3.83 nights of good sleep per week, men 4.1 nights,

• 44% of menopausal women have trouble falling asleep three or more nights a week, compared to 33% of unaffected women.

• Stress (57%), anxiety (47%) and financial worries (31%) are the main factors for sleep disorders in women.

Partnership sleep disorders

• 32% of couples report that their partner’s snoring or loud breathing disturbs their sleep.

• Almost 18% of couples choose to sleep separately every night to ensure a better night’s sleep.

The use of digital devices is increasing

• 42 % use a smartphone app

• 29% use wearables (smart watches or rings)

The most common solutions for improving sleep are

• 26 % use sleep masks

• 25 % blackout curtains

The primary harms of sleep deprivation for employers

• Lower productivity

• Lower commitment

• Increased fluctuation rates

• Hidden costs due to absenteeism and presenteeism

Conclusion

The ResMed study has clearly shown that the gap between sleep needs/sleep duration and sleep quality is widening. Essentially, however, the key stakeholders, especially companies, are not yet making the necessary changes. Why is that?

I think that people have not yet realized that sleep disorders are illnesses and not weaknesses that you simply have to put up with. This applies first and foremost to employers. But even GPs, the first point of contact, are far too little aware of the issue and often simply prescribe medication without investigating the cause.

The ICD-11 now has over 40 different categories under Chapter 7, each with subcategories, on the subject of “sleep disorders” (7A*) and sleep-related movement disorders (7B*). The chapters on circadian sleep-wake rhythm disorders in particular

• 7A64 Circadian sleep-wake cycle disorder, shift work type

• 7A65 Circadian sleep-wake rhythm disorder, jet lag type

• 7A6Z Sleep-wake disorder with circadian rhythm, unspecified

are classifications that certainly exist to a high degree across the board, but due to the lack of expertise of most general practitioners, they are only made by experts with specialist knowledge of circadian rhythms.

Particularly in the context of OHM, but also HSE, companies should make greater efforts to bring knowledge of chronobiology into the company in order to be able to take strategic measures. The best way to do this is to train your own employees. This is why we have specialized in training for coaches and company experts (BGM HRM, HSE) with our expertise from numerous company projects.

Find out more at store.immerausgeschlafen.de

How effective is your sleep management in your company?

If you want to see examples of best practice, you can find our projects here.