People are going online instead of going to sleep – survey

Monday 17th December 2012

Britons are going to sleep 90 minutes later each night than they were 10 years ago, according to a new survey conducted by price comparison website broadbandchoices.co.uk.

The figures showed that on average we are getting seven and a half hours less sleep each week than we were a decade ago – equivalent to 360 hours each year. People are now going to bed at midnight, unlike 10 years ago when lights out was at 10:30pm. The reason for this is because web browsing has become the most popular bedtime habit attracting 25% of respondents before lights out. This is followed by 15% who catch up on television and 13% who go on social networking sites. It's not just laptops that people are taking to bed as well; 25% of people in their 20s are taking smartphones to bed and browsing the web on their handheld device.

But the older residents of Britain however are still in favour of traditional pre-slumber activities; nearly half of over-60s prefer going to bed with a good old-fashioned book.

Tags: survey sleep bedtime smartphones internet television

Category: Sleep Research

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