More than 14 million Britons are living with an undiagnosed sleep disorder that risks damaging their health, a report warns.
Lack of sleep can contribute to physical and mental health problems and hamper productivity at work, costing the economy and the NHS billions of pounds, it adds.
The Sleep Charity’s Dreaming of Change report says society has “normalized sleep problems”, discouraging 69 per cent of those affected from seeking help despite suffering for an average of six years.
He blames work stress and “sleep poverty,” such as poor quality beds and noisy neighbors, for contributing to lack of sleep.
Lack of sleep can contribute to physical and mental health problems and hamper productivity at work, costing the economy and the NHS billions of pounds, it adds.
The charity said it wants the government to publish a “much-needed” National Sleep Strategy to raise awareness of the “crisis”, as it highlighted new research showing a postcode lottery in the availability of recommended treatments for the disorders of the dream.
This is compounded by some GPs’ lack of knowledge about what is available, he says.
Their survey of 2,000 adults found that nine in ten experience sleep problems, one in two engage in dangerous or high-risk behaviors when they can’t sleep, and millions live with untreated health-damaging disorders, such as insomnia or Sleep apnea.
Around 75 per cent of employed people say that work stress has caused them problems sleeping in the last six months, while one in three people suffer from “sleep poverty”, where poor living conditions, pollution Acoustics and uncomfortable sleeping environments reduce sleep quality.
However, only one in twenty people are aware of the link between poor sleep and serious health problems such as cancer, stroke and infertility, and more than a third are unaware of advice on best sleep practices.
Only one in six people with insomnia symptoms have been diagnosed, meaning approximately 14 million may be suffering in silence, according to the report.
Drug watchdog Nice recommends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) as a first-line treatment for both short- and long-term insomnia, but a new Freedom of Information request found that only 17 (12 percent) of the 132 NHS Trusts that responded offering both face-to-face and digital CBT-I.
As many attempt to self-manage their sleep problems, the report highlights concerns that a lack of knowledge about good sleep habits and behaviors is leading people to take the wrong steps that risk exacerbating their problem and damaging their health.
For example, one in eight respondents (13 percent) said they had tried drinking alcohol to help them get a good night’s sleep, while one in twenty (5 percent) admitted to taking sleep medications from someone else.
The survey also found that nearly half (48 percent) engage in “unhealthy, high-risk and sometimes dangerous behaviors” when they can’t sleep, including being violent or physically aggressive toward those around them (4 percent), being emotionally aggressive towards others (10 percent) or going out for a drive (5 percent), which is a common cause of traffic accidents.
One in five (21 percent) reported experiencing paranoid, anxious and depressive thoughts when they had difficulty sleeping, while almost a quarter (24 percent) reported eating more unhealthy foods.
The report calls for more public health advice on good sleep habits and better access to treatment.
Lisa Artis, deputy chief executive of The Sleep Charity, said: “While public health campaigns around healthy eating and physical activity have been run for decades, sleep has been left in the ‘solutions box’ to despite evidence showing that poor sleep increases mortality by 13 percent.” percent and is linked to significant physical and mental health problems. We believe it is time for this to change.
“At a time when the government has never been more focused on preventative measures to tackle poor health, our report clearly demonstrates that sleep can play a huge role in supporting this ambition and having a positive impact on six major health conditions in the UK, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia and mental health problems.
“Its impact goes far beyond our health – sleep problems are estimated to cost the UK billions of pounds each year in lost productivity.
“Furthermore, these issues exacerbate existing social disparities, including bed poverty, which disproportionately affects the economically disadvantaged.”
He added: “There is no doubt that the management of sleep problems is complex and multifaceted, and that is precisely why a National Sleep Strategy is desperately needed.”
“We believe this government and the next have a golden opportunity to lay the foundations for a better education and support system that would make a radical difference to the lives of millions of people in the UK who struggle to sleep.”
The report says GPs often feel pressured to prescribe medication due to a lack of sleep training, and NHS data published last year shows one million people are prescribed insomnia medication, a record, and the number of children prescribed sleeping pills has tripled in recent years. seven years.
However, sleep experts say medications are often not the right treatment for those experiencing sleep problems.
DUP MP Jim Shannon, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Sleep, said: “The UK has a cultural disregard for the importance of sleep spanning government, workplaces, health services and families, and sleep is often relegated to a soft topic that is trivialized. , misunderstood and poorly supported.
“However, this underestimation belies the far-reaching ripple effects that sleep problems are having on individual and public health, as well as the economy and society at large.
“I welcome the publication of this important and timely report and strongly encourage the government to act now to create a National Sleep Strategy to tackle the problem and make a transformative difference to the lives and wellbeing of many millions of people.”