Overview
- Kalms polled 3,700 adults and reported that over half struggle to sleep, with 46% getting under six hours a night against the NHS’s seven to nine hour guideline.
- Dyson’s survey of 2,000 respondents put average nightly sleep at about 6 hours 50 minutes and reported many regularly coping on four hours or less.
- Respondents linked poor sleep to daytime harms, including irritability (47%), impaired concentration and performance (44%), sickness absence (37%) and relationship strain, with some couples sleeping separately (26%).
- Sleep specialists Dr Nerina Ramlakhan and James Wilson highlight contributory factors such as late caffeine, evening screen use, irregular schedules and broader economic and geopolitical stressors.
- Expert advice centers on consistent sleep-wake times, limiting stimulants and screens, managing light and temperature, exercising earlier in the day and using short-term OTC aids cautiously in line with NHS guidance.