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Australia’s unhealthiest sleep habits
What’s keeping Australians up at night?
Sleep is one of the most important pillars of our health, yet many Australians struggle to get enough. From scrolling on phones to binge-watching TV in bed, these common bedtime habits don’t just leave us feeling groggy, they can affect mood, productivity, and overall well-being, and over time may contribute to longer-term health issues.
To understand how widespread these habits are, health insurance comparison service iSelect surveyed over 1,000 Australians. The results reveal the most common sleep habits across the country, showing which behaviours are most prevalent and how these vary across different groups of Australians.
The most common unhealthy sleep habits across Australia
Screen time is the biggest culprit when it comes to bad sleep habits in Australia. Nearly half of respondents (48.6%) scroll on their phones in bed before sleeping, while 40.3% watch TV, stream, or play video games. Checking work emails or messages before bed is a habit for more than one in five Australians (22.2%), showing just how hard it can be to switch off at night. Nighttime phone use in particular can make it harder to fall asleep, reduce total sleep time, and disrupt the body’s natural circadian rhythm, which may contribute to daytime fatigue and lower alertness. Combined, these screen habits dominate the bedtime routine for most people.
But it’s not just screens keeping Aussies awake. More than one in three (38.2%) admit to overthinking or stressing in bed, making it the most common non-screen habit. Persistent stress at bedtime can also keep cortisol levels elevated, making it harder for the body to relax and fall asleep. Other behaviours, like delaying bedtime to have personal time (21.6%), can also play a role. This revenge bedtime procrastination can be seen as a form of self-sabotage, where people trade sleep for downtime, even when they know it may leave them with less sleep and feeling worse the next day.
Which sleep habits are most common among Aussies experiencing poor sleep outcomes?
On average, Australians have around three bad sleep habits, which stacks up the odds of poor sleep. Even a few of these bedtime behaviours, from doomscrolling on TikTok to checking your phone at night, can impact how rested we feel and how well we function the next day. In fact, around one in three (31.3%) Australians say they feel tired most days, 24.7% struggle to fall asleep at night, and roughly one in six (17.6%) get less than six hours of sleep each night. But which habits are most commonly reported among those experiencing these outcomes?
Feeling tired most days was the most commonly reported outcome among Australians. More than half (56.8%) of those who hit the snooze button also reported feeling tired most mornings, making it the habit most commonly reported alongside daytime tiredness. Relying on background noise to fall asleep (52.5%) and a lack of a consistent sleep routine (49.3%) were also commonly reported among those feeling tired most days.
Struggling to fall asleep was another commonly reported experience among those with poor sleep habits. Nearly 45% of Australians who reported finding it hard to nod off either don’t stick to a regular sleep routine or rely on sleep aids, while just over 42% lie awake overthinking or feeling stressed. Relying on background noise to sleep, delaying bedtime for “me-time,” or checking phones at night were also commonly reported among those who struggle to fall asleep. Those reporting multiple habits also tended to report higher rates of struggling to fall asleep: respondents with both no consistent routine and a reliance on sleep aids had the highest struggle-to-sleep rate at 65.2%.
It’s recommended that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep per night; however, one in six respondents reported getting less than six hours. Two in five (40.8%) Australians without a regular sleep schedule reported short sleep, while 27.8% of those who took long or late afternoon naps also reported getting less than sufficient sleep at night. Overthinking or feeling stressed in bed affected 27% of those not getting enough sleep. Combining phone use at night with no consistent sleep routine saw three in five not getting the recommended amount of sleep. A pattern worth noting, given both habits were common among short sleepers.
Some habits were commonly reported across all three outcomes. Not keeping a consistent routine tops the list, with nearly three-quarters of Australians experiencing at least one of the three negative outcomes we explored in our survey. Relying on background noise, sleep aids, overthinking, and long or late afternoon naps were also reported by around two in three of those experiencing at least one poor sleep outcome, suggesting these behaviours are widespread among Australians reporting poor sleep.
How sleep habits differ across Australia
Looking more closely at sleep habits state to state, clear differences start to emerge across the country.
Scrolling before bed was the most common habit across Australia. It’s the most common sleep habit across the board, sitting at 40.3% in South Australia and rising to 54.3% in Western Australia. Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland all sit fairly close together, showing this isn’t a state-specific issue; it’s become a pretty standard part of winding down at night, no matter where you live.
Looking beyond general phone use, the differences between states start to show a bit more clearly. Victoria stands out for work creeping into bedtime routines, with 29.6% checking emails or messages on their phone before going to sleep in bed – noticeably higher than most other states. Victorians also reported higher levels of caffeine disruption, with 21.9% having caffeine within four hours of going to sleep and 22.7% consuming more than three caffeinated drinks during the day.
In Western Australia and Queensland, another habit is impacting mental overload at night, with overthinking in bed sitting at 43.8% and 38.9% respectively. South Australia, on the other hand, tends to sit a bit lower across a few of these habits, including phone scrolling (40.3%) and overthinking (34.7%), suggesting slightly calmer routines before sleep compared to the other states.
When we look at the outcomes respondents reported alongside these habits, there are some clear differences in how rested people feel across states. Western Australia (41.9%) and South Australia (37.5%) have the highest share of people saying they feel tired most days, followed by Queensland at 34.0%. Victoria and New South Wales sit lower in comparison at under 28%. Sleep length also varies across the country, with South Australia (27.8%) and Victoria (20.0%) more likely to say they get less than six hours of sleep a night, compared to New South Wales (15.1%), Queensland (15.3%), and Western Australia (16.2%). Overall, while phone scrolling is universal, work emails in bed, caffeine habits, and overthinking are among the habits that vary most noticeably between states.
Do men and women sleep differently?
When looking at men and women specifically, there are some clear differences in how people wind down before sleep. Phone scrolling in bed is the most common habit for both genders, but it’s more common among women (52.1%) than men (44.9%). Women are also more likely to report overthinking or feeling stressed in bed, at roughly two in five women (43.4%) compared to one in three men (32.7%). Another female-skewed habit is delaying sleep for personal time (24.8% vs 18.3%).
Men are slightly more likely to watch TV, stream, or game in bed (42.1% vs 38.6%). They’re also more likely to eat heavy meals before bed (14.2% vs 11.0%) and report slightly higher caffeine-related habits. Overall, men’s habits lean more towards entertainment, while women’s tend to centre more around phone use and overthinking.
According to the survey, women also report worse sleep across every measure. Around two in five women (38.2%) feel tired most days, compared to around one in four men (24.0%). Women are also more likely to struggle to fall asleep (29.5% vs 19.7%) and get less than six hours of sleep (20.0% vs 14.4%). Overall, while both genders report sleep disruption, women report higher levels of both sleep disruption and daytime fatigue.
How sleep habits change with age
Across generations, screen-based sleep habits decline with age, which reflects broader trends in screen use across age groups. Scrolling in bed is highest among Gen Z (74.0%), followed by Millennials (65.9%), compared to just over one in five Baby Boomers (21.7%). Overthinking is fairly consistent across all age groups, while Millennials stand out for delaying sleep for personal time (30.9%). This may reflect busier life stages with work or study and personal responsibilities, leaving late evening as key downtime. Daytime napping increases with age, rising to 15.0% in Boomers and more than one in three (35.0%) for those over 80, likely linked to natural changes in sleep patterns and more flexible daytime routines.
Looking at outcomes-related responses, one in three Gen X (46-61 year olds) reported the highest levels of feeling tired most days (35.4%), though this can also reflect broader life stage pressures as much as sleep habits specifically. Struggling to fall asleep is highest in Gen Z (29.4%), a group that also reports the highest rates of screen-based habits. Short sleep becomes more common with age, with around one in four Baby Boomers (23.3%) and one in five Gen X (21.0%) getting less than six hours per night, which may also reflect natural changes in sleep quality over time and life stages.
“Our research highlights that many Australians have multiple habits that could be slowly impacting their sleep quality. Whether it’s scrolling on your phone, going to bed stressed, or not sticking to a bedtime routine, these small choices can add up. Over time, poor sleep can be linked to a range of health issues.
“That’s why having the appropriate health insurance in place is important, it can ensure timely access to medical care, early treatment, and ongoing management,. It’s worth checking what your policy covers, as those who struggle with stress and overthinking at night may be able to access psychology appointments and other mental health services. In addition, some hospital cover policies can assist with the cost of any sleep studies, which can involve an overnight stay in hospital.”
Andres Gutierrez
General Manager – Health at iSelect
About the data
We enlisted the services of a third-party survey provider, PureProfile, to conduct a nationally representative survey of 1,008 Australians on the dates 27th-28th of March 2026, to gain insights into the sleep habits affecting the population. Survey respondents were asked a single select-all-that-apply question: “Which of the following habits regularly impacts your ability to get a good night’s sleep?” Respondents could select from 20 options, comprising 16 sleep habits, 3 sleep outcome measures (struggling to fall asleep, feeling tired most days, and usually getting less than 6 hours of sleep), and a “none of these apply to me” option. Demographic data was collected for each respondent across gender, age, state/territory, relationship status, work status, and education level.
To measure the link between habits and outcomes, each of the 16 habits was cross-referenced against the three outcomes. For each habit, only respondents who selected that habit were included (the divisor), and the percentage who also reported each outcome was calculated. The 74 respondents who selected “none of these apply to me” served as a control group, analysed the same way. Habit combinations were also analysed across all 120 possible pairs of two habits, with pairs below 20 respondents excluded to avoid unreliable percentages.
Results for states and demographic groups with insufficient sample sizes, including ACT, TAS, NT.
Sources:
– How much sleep do you really need? | Sleep Health Foundation
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