Bed Dread: The Sleep Issues Keeping Brits Up at Night

Cite This
, (2021, March 2). Bed Dread: The Sleep Issues Keeping Brits Up at Night. Psychreg on Mental Health & Well-Being. https://www.psychreg.org/sleep-issues-brits/
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Sleep is an important factor in all of our lives, but if you dread bed or lose sleep by counting sheep – you’re not alone. Across the UK, nocturnal nightmares are on the rise as new research this National Bed Month has revealed the issues most likely to keep us up at night.

The research, from hybrid mattress brand OTTY, has found that Birmingham is the UK’s most sleep anxious city with an increase of 9300% in searches for sleep anxiety since 2004. Here are the top 10 issues across the UK.

Top sleep issues in the UK (and who’s searching for them the most)

Sleep Issue

Percentage Increase

City

Sleep anxiety

9300%

Birmingham

Sleep amount

7300%

London

Back pain

5100%

London

Parasomnias

3100%

London

Sleep apnoea

418%

Glasgow

Night terrors

228%

Brighton

Can’t sleep

196%

Liverpool

Nightmares

146%

Glasgow

Sleepwalking

116%

Liverpool

Narcolepsy

58%

Cambridge

sleep issue index

Bringing in expert advice from mental health counsellors and sleep physicians OTTY has delved into the effects of losing sleep and how much sleep you really need for optimal brain function.

Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified physician in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine suggests,: ‘Seven to eight hours of sleep is ideal for most people. We should aim to be realistic, and ideally create a “window” of time for sleep of eight or nine hours; with the realisation that despite our efforts, we all end up sleeping a little less than we planned.’


The articles we publish on Psychreg are here to educate and inform. They’re not meant to take the place of expert advice. So if you’re looking for professional help, don’t delay or ignore it because of what you’ve read here. Check our full disclaimer