Does your partner keep you awake?
IF YOU are feeling a little sleepy, there is good reason why.
A survey has found 96% of Australians wake up tired.
The survey by the bed manufacturer Sealy and Central Queensland University found that poor sleep was even affecting employee productivity.
Almost 30% of workers said they had called in sick because of a lack of sleep, 70% said their work had been negatively affected to some degree, and 38% had fallen asleep at work or during a work meeting.
About 70% of respondents said they could not get a decent eight hours sleep because of interruptions.
The biggest interruption was often sleeping right next to them - 35% said they were woken by their partner snoring, going to the toilet, or answering the phone or emails during the night.
Animals were responsible for 21% of sleep disturbances, noisy neighbours caused 18.5% of interruptions, and traffic woke up 12.7% of people.
The sound of rain, considered a comfort by some, woke 16.9% of people from their slumber.
With a decent night's sleep looking unlikely, Australians are turning to other activities in bed.
The most popular activity in bed, apart from sleeping and intimacy, is using the computer.
More Australians (78%) use their computer in bed than read (60%) or watch television (36%).
Thirty-two percent of respondents said they used the bed to fold clothes, although it was not clear from the results whether they did this on or in their beds.
Nearly 9% of people thought it was okay to let their pets sleep in bed with them while just under 5% let their kids in.
Queenslanders were average sleepers, while ACT residents got the most sleep and Northern Territorians were more sleepless than any other state.
Claire Spear, 73, of Buderim, said she had no problems getting a good eight hours sleep these days.
"I sleep like the dead," Ms Spear said.
She went through a spell of insomnia last year which appeared to be related to illness but it seemed to have passed.
She said being relaxed was the key to getting a decent night's sleep.
