Nation fatigued by new energy crisis
A recent survey conducted by the School and Sydney based human performance firm, Energx, found that on average, Australian women feel that they have the energy for themselves and important activities on just four out of every ten days.
Men feel that they have sufficient energy on just five of every ten days.
The results of the survey of 1,200 people have been published in a report titled 鈥淲hy are we so tired鈥�?
Dr , a senior lecturer in School鈥檚 discipline of聽International Business, described the survey results as 鈥渄epressing鈥�.
鈥淭his report shows that Australia is experiencing a human energy crisis. One of the symptoms of this is an epidemic of sleep deprivation,鈥� said Dr Volk. 鈥淪leep allows our brain to regenerate and our body to revitalize. Unfortunately, in the corporate world there is still a widespread perception that sleep is a waste of time and that people who sleep less are more productive.鈥�
鈥淩espondents in our survey reported having at least 7 hours of sleep on only 6 out of 10 days and of waking feeling refreshed on just 4 out of 10 days,鈥� he said.
This recent study comes in the wake of earlier research, which found that the mental performance of people who had been awake for more than 18 hours was equivalent to that of those with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 - the legal limit for driving in Australia.
After 19 hours, performance dropped to levels equivalent to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.1.
The Energx/Business School survey also questioned participants about their eating habits and found that the majority skipped meals on more than 3 out of 10 days and ate the recommended serving of fruit and vegetables on only about 5 out of 10 days.
鈥淔ood provides glucose and the healthier the food, the longer we have a sufficient blood glucose level after a meal,鈥� said Dr Volk. 鈥淕lucose is often referred to as brain fuel and our mental performance suffers when we don鈥檛 have enough of it in our blood.鈥�
The survey went on to question participants about other sources of energy not usually measured.
鈥淢any of us are unaware of how much our energy can be affected by things outside the physical,鈥� said Founder and 鈥淐hief Energiser鈥� at Energx, Sean Hall. 鈥淥ur survey took a more holistic approach and included things like passions, strengths, self-talk, relationships, mindset, goal setting and how we manage distractions.鈥�
Created by Energx, this holistic approach is called 鈥渆nergy intelligence鈥� and it allows people to simply understand their current energy levels and then practically teach the skills required to increase the quantity and quality of energy needed to lead an energised, meaningful life.
鈥淯ltimately it is our energy intelligence that determines our ability to be and feel successful,鈥� Mr Hall said. 鈥淎n exciting application of this thinking is in the business context. Energx and the Business School share the belief that the most valuable asset in any organisation is the collective energy of its people.鈥�
The question isn鈥檛 are your people depleted, the real question is by how much and what impact is this having on your business today,鈥� he concluded.
痴颈蝉颈迟听聽to download a copy of the report聽鈥榃hy Are We So Tired? Australia鈥檚 Human Energy Crisis.鈥�