Forget ‘Sleepless in Seattle’, Britain is now facing a “sleepless epidemic” as new research reveals the extent of the nation’s exhaustion.
We all know that we could do with getting a little more time between the sheets, but now research has shown that on average, Brits are losing a whole night’s sleep every week.
The study, of more than 10,000 adults by Benson for Beds, found that over 70% of Brits are not getting the recommended eight hours of sleep per night, which quickly adds up to a substantial amount of rest we are missing out on.
Dr Guy Meadows, founder of The Sleep School, said of the findings: “The results from this second national survey suggest a worsening of the UK’s sleepless epidemic with the number of adults reporting to get less than six hours sleep per night increasing from 46% to 53%.”
Over half of women in the poll claimed that it was general life stresses that stopped them from getting enough shut-eye, while 40% of men said work was to blame.
Not only is this making us feel crumby but it is having an impact on the UK economy, causing a loss of over £1 billion in annual revenue, as 8% of workers are calling in sick because of sleep deprivation.
On a more embarrassing note, 12% admitted to actually falling asleep during a meeting.
And it isn’t only adults feeling tired, as children as young as three years old are not getting enough sleep either.
A fairly shocking 27% of children aged three to 17 years old are not getting enough for their recommended age groups.
And if you live in Plymouth there’s even more bad news, as it’s the most under-slept city in Britain, followed by Cardiff and Lincoln.