The survey, of over 21,000 UK adults, predicts that February will be the worst for sleep until the winter months hit later this year. Key findings suggest:
- We will spend an average of 8 minutes longer trying to get to sleep, alongside a further 10 minutes awake during the night than we will in March.
- Almost ⅓ more people will suffer from low energy in February than in March.
- Women are particularly affected, experiencing sleep quality 7% worse in February than their average for the rest of the year (versus a 5% dip for men).
It’s not all bad news however. The survey, commissioned by clinically-proven sleep improvement programme Sleepio.com, suggests that we should see a boost in our sleep in March, with a 14% increase in the nation’s average Sleep Score, an overall measure of sleep quality, and a 26% fall in those who felt frustrated due to their sleep.
Sleep expert and co-founder of Sleepio, Professor Colin Espie said:
“These results demonstrate the difficulty many people experience with sleep during the shorter, darker days typical of this time of the year. It is unsurprising that women are affected slightly more than men – this reflects the general higher prevalence of sleep problems amongst the female population. With poor quality of sleep affecting all aspects of our lives – from relationships to energy and productivity at work – the potential impact of this shouldn’t be underestimated. This highlights once again the need for evidence-based non-drug sleep improvement solutions such as Sleepio.com”.
Sleepio is a clinically-proven online sleep improvement programme, featuring personalised CBT techniques, with 12 weeks access available for £49.99.
