It is a myth that if we sacrifice sleep, we will get ahead in life. In reality, sleep doesn’t get in the way of personal progress but enables it.
AIA Group on Tuesday unveiled OneMoreHour, an initiative designed to raise awareness about the health benefits associated with getting sufficient sleep. Bankers who are often cutting back on sleep can find tips, tools, and rewards at the company's «sleep content hub» that may encourage them to change their behavior.
«We are taking a stand to refute the allegations that less sleep is more. There is abundant science-backed proof to show that to do better, you need to sleep better,» said AIA Group Chief Marketing Officer Stuart A. Spencer in a media statement. The initiative isn’t aimed only at AIA’s employees, but all members of AIA Vitality, a health rewards program for AIA policyholders, the financial group added.
Sleep-Deprived Asians
Based on their surveys in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, AIA Group found that over half of the people surveyed (55 percent) said they get just six hours or less sleep each night, even though seven to nine hours is the optimal amount of for most adults.
In addition, 66 percent said they either worry about not getting enough sleep or want more sleep. «Just one more hour of sleep can provide an extensive number of health benefits and yet sleep deprivation continues to affect an increasing number of people in Asia,» Spencer added.
Insufficient Sleep Degrades Abilities
Michael Chee, one of Asia’s sleep experts from Duke-NUS Medical School and Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in Singapore, which worked in partnership with AIA for the initiative, pointed to research findings that show how sleep loss degrades perception, attention, and memory decoding.
Even if one is able to withstand sleep deprivation in the short term, the adverse effects of sleep deprivation will eventually catch up with one’s physical and mental health. In contrast, getting sufficient sleep allows one to enjoy benefits such as the reduced likelihood of suffering from chronic disease, better ability to maintain a healthy weight, and a stronger immune system, the professor added.
