Britain is in the grip of an insomnia epidemic as one in ten (10%) people relies on sleeping pills, research has revealed.
Results from a survey by the Economic and Social Research Council show that one in eight (12.5%) of Britons don’t even manage six hours of slumber a night where it is recommended for an adult (18+years) to get 7.5-9 hours sleep a night. Additionally, three in five (20%) take up to 30 minutes to fall asleep.
Although Margaret Thatcher may have survived on five hours sleep a night, scientists say a good night’s sleep is as crucial to your health as eating well and exercise. In fact, not enough sleep could lead to diabetes, heart disease and obesity if left unaddressed for too long,
They blame social pressure to work harder and fit more in during the day for why Brits turn to drugs to knock them out.
But experts have warned that a ‘quick fix’ in the shape of a pill is not the answer.
Independent sleep researcher Neil Stanley said: ‘A lot of people reach for medication as a quick fix rather than looking at the lifestyle and environmental issues that may be causing their sleep problems…There’s no medicine that gives you a natural sleep. They give you a drug-induced sleep.’
Behind the data was Susan Arber, of the University of Surrey who blamed an ‘almost macho image around not needing enough sleep’.
Professor Francesco Cappuccio, of the University of Warwick, backed the research, saying: “If you sleep less than five hours on a regular basis, your long-term [chance] of developing diseases increases dramatically.” He added that hormones that regulate appetite and blood pressure are affected by sleep loss and “anything you do to work against your body clock will have consequences on your physiology”.
At the Virtual Health Club we encourage you to build-in adequate sleep into your routine and not to use drugs to help you sleep.