World Sleep Day is celebrated annually to raise awareness of sleep as a human privilege that is often compromised by the habits of modern life. It is observed on Friday before Spring Vernal Equinox of each year. This year, it is being celebrated on March 17, 2023 while, in 2024, it would fall on March 15, 2024.
According to World Sleep Society, the annual event intends to celebrate the sleep and create awareness about its importance, sleep related issues that affect the health of individuals.
World Sleep Day is an annual event, intended to be a celebration of sleep and a call to action on important issues related to sleep. Today, sleep is not commonly considered an essential behavior for good health. The observance of World Sleep Day educates people about the significance of sleep, and lessen the burden of sleep disorders on society through better prevention and management of sleep problems.
History:
World Sleep Day was first observed in 2008 by the World Sleep Society, previously known as the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM), a non-profit organisation with a group of dedicated health care providers and members of the medical community working and studying in the area of sleep medicine and research, to promote and advance sleep health worldwide.
The goal of the first World Sleep Day was to bring together sleep healthcare providers to discuss and distribute sleep information around the world.
Significance:
In today’s era, lifestyles have become increasingly hectic led by several factors such as long working hours and heightened commuting time. However, to ensure consistency in performance, the importance of having good sleep has risen, in the last few years, which has enhanced the significance of initiatives such as World Sleep Day.
According to the World Sleep Society, “World Sleep Day is an opportunity to promote sleep health alongside thousands of other sleep health professionals and advocates. When we all promote sleep health and #WorldSleepDay together, our combined effort is greater than the sum of its parts. Spread the word about sleep health on World Sleep Day, and help elevate the conversation around sleep.”
Theme:
The theme for this year’s Sleep Day is ‘Sleep is Essential for Health’. According to World Sleep Society, the theme aims to focus that as eating well and exercising is necessary for good health, a good sleep is a foundation to one’s physical, mental, and social well-being.
