The Normalisation of Poor Sleep: The Silent Erosion of Our Standards

By Mark Phillips | Founder, Sleep Well Hub

How do we rate our sleep, when everyone around us is not getting Restoritive Sleep either?

In my over 35 years in the Army and the Police, I saw the effects of exhaustion almost every day. But what I’m seeing now at Sleep Well Hub is perhaps even more concerning. It's no longer the boosting competition over who slept the least; it’s a quiet, collective drift into a state of chronic Sleep depletion.

I call it the "Silent Erosion" of our standards.

When I speak with clients about their SONA (Sleep, Opportunity, Need, Ability), I often hear them say, "My sleep is normal, everyone I know is as tired as I am." They know they aren't doing well, but because their peers, colleagues, and family members are all feeling the same way, they don't realise just how bad things have become.

The Broken Compass of "Normal"

We have lost our "True North" for what it feels like to be healthy and alert. When everyone around you is struggling with brain fog, irritability, and low energy, those symptoms stop being red flags and start being treated as the background noise of adult life in 2026.

Research this year shows that over a third of employees now cite sleep issues as their primary mental health challenge [1]. We aren't just "a bit tired"; we are living through a quiet epidemic of biological impairment that has been rebranded as "normal sleep."

Just because everyone in your circle is struggling doesn't mean you have to accept it. If every compass in the room is broken, it doesn't mean you aren't lost, it just means nobody knows the way home.

We have lost our "True North" for what it feels like to be healthy and alert.

Shifting the Narrative: From Survival to Restorative

At Sleep Well Hub, we don't look at what everyone else is doing. We look at your personal SONA.

We look at your Sleep Architecture, the quality of your deep and REM sleep. We look at your Opportunity, the sleep windows available for you to rest. We respect your biological Need, your unique chronotype. And we build your Ability, to switch off and fall asleep.

Towards a "Sleep Positive Culture": At Work and At Home

We need to stop treating sleep as a luxury and start treating it as a non-negotiable biological imperative. This requires a fundamental shift in our cultural narrative, moving away from a "survival mindset" and towards a "Sleep Positive Culture."

In the workplace, a Sleep Positive Culture means that leaders model healthy rest, and policies and procedures that protect the employees right to Restorative Sleep. But this concept shouldn’t have to stop at the office door.

Imagine if we adopted a "Sleep Positive" mindset in our private lives.

What if we stopped treating our Sleep Delaying habits "personal time" and started treating our required sleep Need as the ultimate act of self-care? What if we valued our rest as much as our work? By adopting a Sleep Positive Culture at home, we aren't just "fixing sleep", we are reclaiming our vitality, our patience, and our capacity to enjoy our whole lives.

It’s time to raise our standards. Don't settle for "normal" when your body was built for "exceptional."

References':

[1] Rio Grande Guardian. (2026). Why poor sleep is the top mental health challenge for employees.

[2] AllWork.Space. (2025).The Future Of Work Runs On Rest.

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