- Do you feel tired when you wake up in the morning? If you also snore at night, or doze off in work meetings, you may have a sleep disorder.
- There are hundreds of sleep disorders, the most common being insomnia or struggling to sleep; hypersomnia, which is being tired all day, despite sleeping at night; and parasomnia, which is sleepwalking or talking.
- About 4-million South Africans don’t get enough sleep and one in five suffer from sleep apnoea — which means they stop breathing for periods while asleep.
- Although sleep apnoea can be fatal, very few government health facilities offer treatment.
- Health Beat visits someone with sleep apnoea and asks experts why bad sleep can lead to chronic disease and obesity and provide us with sleep solutions.
In today’s newsletter Jessica Pitchford, Yolanda Mdzeke and Mohale Moloi explain why not getting enough sleep can be deadly. Sign up.
Mia Malan is the founder and editor-in-chief of Bhekisisa. She has worked in newsrooms in Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington, DC, winning more than 30 awards for her radio, print and television work.
Jessica Pitchford is Bhekisisa's TV and multimedia editor. She's been a journalist since the early nineties and has reported on some pivotal events in South Africa’s political history, such as the country’s transition to democracy and the work of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission.
Mohale Moloi worked at Bhekisisa as a television producer and health journalist from July 2021 to March 2024.
Yolanda Mdzeke was a junior multimedia reporter and multimedia reporter at Bhekisisa between March 2021 and June 2025.
Ruan Visser is a South African-based freelance director of photography, crafting visual narratives with a keen eye for detail and a love for cinematic storytelling.
Thatego Mashabela was a multimedia producer at Bhekisisa from February 2024 to October 2025.
