The Great British Sleep Survey 2012

A study of the UK‘s sleep by Sleepio

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The respondents at a glance

Total surveyed 20,814

In total 20,814 people from all across the UK completed the Great British Sleep Survey between March 2010 and June 2012. The geographical distribution of these responses is broadly representative of the population as a whole. Only Scotland and London have slightly more responses than would be expected if it were a perfectly representative sample.

Map of Great Britain, with the total number of respondents from each region overlaid: Scotland - 2,612; N. Ireland - 391; North East - 642; North West - 2,299; Yorkshire & Humber - 1,726; Wales - 952; West Midlands - 1,250; East Midlands - 1,230; East of England - 1,504; South West - 1,710; South East - 2,853; London - 3,590; No region recorded - 56

The respondents at a glance

A wide range of ages and lifestyles

Three quarters of respondents are female, two thirds have a partner and a third live with children. The average respondent is 41 years old, in employment and sleeps poorly - the average sleep score is just 5.1/10. This is to be expected - there is a greater incentive to complete the sleep survey if you are worried about your sleep. So we must avoid inferring population prevalence of sleep problems from this sample, rather focus on the relative differences between subgroups.

Pie graphs showing statistics about respondents: Average sleep score = 5.1/10; 73% are female; 66% have a partner; 29% have children; Average age is 41; 7% under 20 years old, 24% 21-30 years old, 21% 31-40 years old, 19% 41-50 years old, 17% 51-60 years old, 12% over 60 years old; 60% currently employed; 44% employed full time, 16% employed part time, 14% retired, 12% full time student, 8% unemployed, 6% homemaker

What keeps us awake at night

The ‘racing mind’ is the main cause of sleeplessness

Most of us are kept awake by the "racing mind" at some point in our lives - and the results reinforce the role thoughts often have in disturbing our sleep. Worries about tomorrow and the day's events are the most common thoughts that bother us at night. In terms of physical factors, our bodily functions (such as needing to go to the toilet) affect the greatest number of people.

Top 5 physical factors: (% respondents frequently affected): Bodily comfort (67%), Noise (36%), Partner (34%), Room temperature (34%), Light levels (19%); Top 5 persistent thoughts (% respondents frequently affected): What happened today and what I've got on tomorrow (82%), How long I've been lying awake (79%), Trivial things of no important (76%), What the future might hold (71%), Things that happened in the past (71%);

The impact of poor sleep

Poor sleep affects every aspect of our lives

The worst effect of poor sleep isn't how we feel at night - it's how it affects us during the day, both physically and emotionally. Long-term poor sleepers are 7 times more likely to feel helpless than good sleepers and 5 times more likely to feel alone, but also twice as likely to have relationship problems, suffer daytime fatigue and lack of concentration.

Poor sleepers are… 7 times more likely to feel helpless (56% vs 7%); 5 times more likely to feel alone (53% vs 10%); 3 times more likely to struggle to concentrate (62% vs 17%); Twice as likely to suffer from fatigue (88% vs 29%); Twice as likely to have relationship problems (77% vs 35%); Twice as likely to suffer from low mood (77% vs 27%); Twice as likely to struggle to be productive (74% vs 27%); (Percentages indicate the proportion of good sleepers (ie, those who say they don't have a sleep problem) and long-term poor sleepers (ie, those who have had a sleep problem for longer than 3 mths), who find each area of their life affected significantly by poor sleep) — Percentages indicate the proportion of good sleepers (ie. those who say they don’t have a sleep problem) and long-term poor sleepers (ie. those who have had a sleep problem for longer than 3 mths) who find each area of their life affected significantly by poor sleep.

Sleep quality by region

Scots and Londoners reported the best sleep

Scotland and London top the sleep league with the highest average Sleep Scores. Yorkshire, the North West, East of England, West Midlands and the South West all share the dubious title of worst sleepers in the UK. However there is a good chance that this difference by region is simply due to random variance.

Map of Great Britain, with the average Sleep Score from each region overlaid: Scotland - 5.6; N. Ireland - 4.9; North East - 5.1; North West - 4.9; Yorkshire & Humber - 4.9; Wales - 5.1; West Midlands - 4.9; East Midlands - 5.2; East of England - 4.9; South West - 4.9; South East - 5.1; London - 5.6;

Men vs women

Women sleep worse on average than men

Women have a 10% lower average Sleep Score and a higher percentage of long-term poor sleepers than we find with male respondents. However, the impact of poor sleep is remarkably similar between genders - energy, relationships and mood are the top three most affected areas for both men and women.

Average sleep score: Men - 5.5, Women - 5.0; Percentage with long term poor sleep: Men - 49%, Women - 56%; Percentage of long term poor sleepers for whom a daytime area is significantly affected by poor sleep -- Energy: Men - 86%, Women - 88%; Relationship: Men - 78%, Women - 77%; Mood: Men - 77%, Women - 77%; — % of long term poor sleepers for whom a daytime area is significantly affected by poor sleep.

Age and sleep

Sleep quality decreases with age

It is clear from the survey results that sleep quality decreases as we get older, as our sleep becomes more broken. Alongside this the proportion of people with persistent poor sleep increases, with 49% more people over 60 suffering from long term sleep problems than those in their twenties.

Average sleep score by age: Under 20 years - 5.5; 21-30 years - 5.7; 31-40 years - 5.4; 41-50 years - 4.9; 51-60 years - 4.6; Over 60 years - 4.4;

Age and sleep

What keeps us awake changes as we get older

Different things disturb our sleep as we get older. Children keep us awake in middle age before they move out, and as our bodies age bodily discomfort becomes more of an issue whilst the environment has less influence – perhaps as a result of our senses becoming less keen, or retiring to quieter areas.

Chart showing disturbances in sleep related to age: Bodily discomfort steadily increases until 51-60 years, then has a slight decrease above 60 years; Environment steadily decreases; Partner increases steadily until 31-40 years, then continues to increase at a slower rate until 51-60 years, then has a downturn; Children increases strongly until 31-40 years, where it then decreases just as sharply;

Sleeping pills

Sleeping pills are being taken by those who shouldn’t

An incredible 42% of those on sleeping pills have had sleep problems for over a decade. This confirms that sleeping pills are not effective in solving long term sleep problems, but also suggests that sleeping pills are being taken by those who, according to NHS guidelines, shouldn't be – long-term poor sleepers.

Sleeping pills

Those taking sleeping pills have poorer wellbeing

Sleeping pills are also associated with poorer general wellbeing, including greater feelings of helplessness, loneliness and being out of control. This highlights the need for evidence-based non-drug sleep solutions to be made available to the general public.

Compared to people who don't take sleeping pills, those that do are 85% more likely to feel helpless, 74% more likely to feel alone, and 49% more likely to feel that their sleep is out of control.