Brits have a sleeping problem, but exercise can be a solution

The world’s largest sleep census revealed that Britons have a sleeping problem — they don’t get enough sleep and wake up still tired.

According to the study, “a shocking 77% of Brits failing to wake up each morning feeling refreshed and well-rested, while just 2% say this happens ‘every day’.”

Photo by Aaron Jacobs

The study was conducted by bed manufacturer Sealy UK in cooperation with Loughborough University’s Clinical Sleep Research Unit (CSRU) and polled more than 15,000 respondents from five participating countries (UK, Australia, South Africa, China and South Korea) between July and September this year.

“The census is the largest and most in-depth study of its kind ever undertaken in the world, and forms an important part of our ongoing commitment to research and innovation in the sleep arena,” said Sealy’s spokesperson, Neil Robinson. “Sleep is an issue that all of us can identify with, and as such, the study provides invaluable insights into sleep which will inform both our product development and the work of the Clinical Sleep Research Unit.”

The online surveyed asked questions on general health, sleep habits, sleep quality and insomnia symptoms, lifestyle, and the bedroom environment.

It explored that men lose five days of sleep a year, and women lose 10 days.

Although South Korea beat the UK with having the largest sleep debt — men losing 18 and a half days each year while women losing an average 15 days each year. Sleep debt is the perceived amount of sleep people need to effectively function mentally and emotionally the next day, minus the actual sleep they get each night, the study explains.

It seems that the worst morning people in the UK live in Sheffield (85% fail to wake up refreshed and rested) followed by Cardiff (82%) and Edinburgh (81%), according to the report.

The survey pointed out that 52% of respondents feel they need eight or more hours of sleep each night to function well the next day. However, only 24% actually get this much sleep. “During a normal working week, therefore, most people feel they don’t get enough sleep.”

A good night sleep doesn’t affect everybody the same way though. Seventy per cent of UK respondents said they could function better if they slept better, while in China, 92% of those surveyed think so.

The study found that the lost hours of sleep result in less effective work performance.

Commenting on the study, Professor Kevin Morgan, director of Loughborough University’s Clinical Sleep Research Unit, has said he was excited about the findings.

“In this initial analysis, we are already seeing some significant trends including a global ‘sleep debt’ as people across the globe struggle to get their required hours each night,” he said. “Even an hour’s less sleep each night can cause problems the next day, impacting on a person’s cognitive performance and ability to remain alert and focused on tasks. Any more than that and people open themselves up to more serious health issues including obesity, diabetes and depression.”

That leads us to another study that might provide a solution to fighting the consequences of those unslept hours.

This research, published in the Public Health Journal in October this year, found that regular physical exercise lowers the risk of excessive daytime sleepiness or EDS, which is the result of bad sleep quality and depression.

EDS is often caused by a sleep disorder that disrupts the person’s sleep cycle, according to sleepfoundation.org. It’s a common consequence of obstructive sleep apnea, when the person struggles to breathe during the night and wakes up many times as result.

Physical activity could help reducing EDS. The study found that “causal relationships from both depression and sleep quality to EDS were relatively weaker in those who regularly engage in physical exercise, which resulted in lower chances of having EDS.”

With so many disturbing factors affecting those snoozing hours from digital gadgets, uncomfortable beds and even snoring partners, it seems exercise can be the key to still making the most out of your day. An at least 30-minute brisk walk or aerobic exercise can help you perform better throughout the day making up for a bad night sleep.

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