Good Night, Sleep Tight, Have You’ve Had Your Meds Tonight?

A staggering one in ten people in the UK take medication to help them sleep; research released this week has shown.

The survey by the University of Surrey analysed the sleeping habits of 14,000 households and was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Also a mass of data was collected from a study of 40,000 UK families’ sleep data over many years.,

So what did the study conclude other than 10% of us rely on medication to help us sleep. Well it also showed that one in eight people get less than six hours' sleep a night. And this goes against experts’ advice that a good night's sleep is essential to a healthy lifestyle.

The survey also showed there is a difference in sleep patterns between genders. Women are less likely to drop off to sleep within the first half an hour than men - 24% compared to 18%. To balance things out 30% of men said that snoring or coughing disturbs their sleep - compared to 20% of women.

And age makes things worse! The survey showed that 25% of women over 85 took medication to help them get to sleep on three or more nights a week, compared to 15% of men.

It’s okay quoting these statistics but does it help us understand the causes? Well the study established the link between work and sleep patterns. Unsurprisingly, it showed that job satisfaction affects the quality of sleep - 33% of dissatisfied employees slept poorly, compared to just 18% of satisfied employees. If you are unemployed you are over 40% more likely to have difficulty staying asleep than those working.

Can hypnotherapy help? Andy Cox, hypnotherapist at Assured Effects Hypnotherapy in Poole, Bournemouth, Dorset is convinced the answer is yes! He explains “We are all born with the natural ability to fall asleep easily. By teaching you relaxation techniques to help your mind slow down at the end of each day, hypnotherapy can seek out and address the root cause of your sleeping problems.”

“Hypnotherapy can also teach self-hypnosis techniques to improve your ability to relax, reduce anxious thoughts, and prepare your body for sleep. In most cases insomnia can be viewed as a bad habit. Like all bad habits, with the help of hypnotherapy it can be unlearned and replaced by a good habit such as falling asleep easily and enjoying a good night's sleep every night.”