Sleep
The World Is Tired. And It's Hurting.
Sleep is one of the most powerful things we do, yet it's treated like an afterthought. In Australia, a staggering 48% of adults experience at least 2 sleep problems (AIHW, 2021). The economic toll is immense: recent Australian research estimates the cost of inadequate sleep at $14.4 billion in financial costs and another $36.6 billion in non-financial costs annually (Sleep Health Foundation, 2020). This isn't just about a bad night - it's a public health crisis driving chronic disease, mental health issues, and workplace accidents.
But what's the world's response? A multi-billion dollar market of pills, apps, and devices that treat the symptom while completely missing the essence of the problem.
This Is Where OTs Belong
Sleep isn't a medical condition to be fixed. It's an occupation 💤 - a complex, meaningful part of our daily rhythm involving the routines we build, the environments we create, and the habits that ground us. Every night, people engage in preparing for sleep, creating comfort, managing their space, and transitioning from day to rest. This is occupation at its core. Yet here's what's heartbreaking — we've let others walk all over our role, with solutions lacking our perspective.
The world desperately needs what only we can offer — the understanding that sleep is fundamentally about how people live.
What's Missing Without Us
- Sleep clinics treat disorders but ignore daily routines
- Apps measure duration but miss meaning and purpose
- Medications force sleep but don't build sustainable habits
- Wellness programs give generic advice that ignores individual contexts
The result? People get temporary fixes but never develop the occupational skills that create lasting, restorative sleep.
This Is Where We Are at LifeSetGo
We know how well OTs support sleep in the lives of people they support. From children to adults, we have it covered. This is our moment. Sleep is not a disorder to fix or a metric to optimise. It's an occupation — the deeply personal rhythm of rest, restoration, and renewal. We understand what the world has forgotten: that sleep emerges from how we live, not what we consume.
It's time for OTs to re-claim their expertise in sleep in mainstream public settings. This can only be achieved when the profession stands united and confident in occupation-centred service. Every OT needs the clarity and confidence to assert sleep as a fundamental occupation, no matter which setting they work in.
When we stand together with this clarity, we don't just help individuals sleep better — we transform how society understands the role of sleep in health itself.
👉 Ready to stand united? This starts with clarity about our role. Train with LifeSetGo.