World Sleep Day 2026

 

Sleep Well, Live Better

Taking place on the 13^th of March, World Sleep Day is an annual opportunity to highlight the importance of sleep health. This year’s theme ‘Sleep Well, Live Better’ draws attention to sleep health being the foundation of physical and mental health. As a health and care professional, having a good sleep routine ensures that you can administer high quality treatment in a safe manner.

Unfortunately, health and care professionals are no stranger to long working hours, night shifts, and experiencing a general sense of fatigue. In the last 12 months, 66% of patients registering with Practitioner Health had trouble staying asleep or sleeping too much nearly every day.

Shift work, on‑call duties, long clinics, emotional intensity, and medicolegal worries can all take a toll on your circadian rhythm and restorative sleep. Many staff report finding themselves “tired but wired” - exhausted during the day yet are mentally alert and unable to sleep at night replaying consultations, the events of the day, or anticipating the next shift.

Over time, ongoing sleep disruption can affect concentration, empathy, decision making, and overall clinical performance. It also increases vulnerability to mental health problems. Within a culture that often equates endurance with professionalism, sleep problems are easily overlooked until wellbeing or performance noticeably declines. World Sleep Day is a timely reminder that sleep is important for both staff wellbeing and patient safety. Whilst medication can sometimes provide short term relief for sleep problems, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT‑I) is generally a more effective and practical treatmentin the longer term. Some measures include keeping a regular wake‑up time where possible, allowing a wind‑down period before bed, limiting late‑evening activities which will keep you mentally stimulated, and making sure that the bedroom is only used for sleep, intimacy and changing clothes. Managing light exposure (bright in the morning, dim in the evening) can also be helpful.

At Practitioner Health, our expert therapists and clinicians have a deep understanding of this all-too-common experience. Many of our team members have worked within primary and secondary care and utilise their lived experience to produce a treatment plan that considers the unique struggles that health and care professionals face.

Burnout and fatigue shouldn’t be commonplace within the health and care profession. If you are experiencing poor sleep health as a result of mental ill health or addiction issues, and cannot access confidential treatment from local services, Practitioner Health may be right for you.

Register with us today

If you are unable to access our service, support from your GP, occupational health, or your local talking therapies service can help to address the underlying issues of your poor sleep health.

There are also a variety of resources, programmes, and apps that are designed to help health and care professionals improve their sleep health:

Sleep and Burnout with Dr Lee David and Dr Richard Duggins

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Listen to the podcast

Sleep Resources for Health and Care Professionals

Programmes & Apps for Improved Sleep

Podcasts

Published: Mar 10, 2026