Sleep Wellness

The Importance of Sleep Quality

Sleep has a massive impact on other wellness domains and is highly sensitive to imbalances in those areas. Despite knowing how vital good sleep is for a healthier, more fulfilling life, many of us still don’t get enough quality sleep. Work and life stressors are often the main culprits behind our sleep disruptions.

What Does the Symmio Sleep Wellness Score Mean?

Symmio’s report provides a total score for your sleep wellness using an evidence-based test that professionals use to determine the quality of sleep you experience over a month. Based on this assessment, we can determine if you need to focus on improving your sleep habits or if you need to seek further help from a professional. A lower score indicates a higher likelihood that you experience poor sleep daily.

To measure sleep quality and patterns, we typically start with surveys and self-reporting. Questions will help differentiate “poor sleep” from “good sleep” by looking at areas like subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medications, and daytime dysfunction.

Poor sleep quality and sleep deprivation can increase your risk of physical injury. One study highlights that sleep deprivation negatively affects performance, including reaction time, accuracy, vigor, submaximal strength, and endurance. It also hampers cognitive functions like judgment and decision-making. Keep in mind that nearly 3/4 of high school students don’t get enough sleep, and 36% of adults under 44 are in the same situation.

Sleep quality underscores the multifactorial nature of our wellness domains. Sleep complaints are common in most chronic pain disorders, and over half of people with insomnia also suffer from chronic pain. Additionally, both chronic pain and sleep disturbances are linked to physical and mental health conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and depression.