Why bad sleep can cost you more than a day of feeling tired

This ‘Health Beat’ episode shows how sleep disorders can affect your state of mind as well as your physical health, and experts tell us what can be done without expensive treatment

February 01, 2024 at 5:00 am

Do you feel tired when you wake up in the morning? If you also snore at night, or doze off in work meetings, you may have a sleep disorder.
There are hundreds of sleep disorders, the most common being insomnia or struggling to sleep; hypersomnia, which is being tired all day, despite sleeping at night; and parasomnia, which is sleepwalking or talking.
About 4-million South Africans don’t get enough sleep and one in five suffer from sleep apnoea — which means they stop breathing for periods while asleep.
Although sleep apnoea can be fatal, very few government health facilities offer treatment.
Health Beat visits someone with sleep apnoea and asks experts why bad sleep can lead to chronic disease and obesity and provide us with sleep solutions.