Sleeping survey uncovers widespread problems

Tuesday 11th September 2012

A survey of 20,000 people in the UK has found that 42% have suffered from sleep problems for a period of eleven years or more, it was revealed this week. Furthermore, the Great British Sleep Survey found that an additional 22% of the respondents reported that they had experienced insomnia that lasted between two and five years. The long-term nature of the sleep disorders reported in the results suggests that a reliance on sleeping pills to conquer problems doesn’t lead to a lasting solution.

Sleeping pills are a commonly-used aid for various sleep disorders, with approximately 10m prescriptions written on the NHS annually. However they are always recommended on a short-term basis, with dependency and immunity among the issues when sleeping pills are taken for a longer period of time.

As well as the apparently widespread presence of long-term insomnia in respondents, the average ‘sleep score’ of the group was a mere five out of ten, underlining the generally poor sleep quality for many.

The survey was sponsored by Sleepio, a cognitive behavioural therapy programme aimed at boosting sleep quality.

Tags: sleep sleeping pills insomnia

Category: Sleep Research

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