Aberdeen bottom of good sleep list

The Great British Sleep Survey, conducted by Professor Colin Espie, director of the University of Glasgow Sleep Centre, found the average sleep satisfaction score for Aberdonians was only 62 per cent.

Dundee was second bottom at 65 per cent followed by Falkirk and Stirling scoring 67 per cent. Glasgow came top for sleep satisfaction at a respectable 75 per cent followed by Edinburgh at 69 per cent.

The research data from the survey into the sleep patterns of the adult population, which still has three months to run, will be used to develop new, non-drug treatments to help people sleep better.

Research shows around a third of British adults suffer from insomnia, with current thinking now increasingly linking it to emotional problems in sufferers’ daytime lives. Researchers want to encourage as many people as possible to take a confidential five-minute online questionnaire survey which provides them with their own percentage score and individual tailored sleep profile.

The survey will also examine individual post code areas, socioeconomic and age groups and differences between men and women’s sleeping patterns.

Professor Espie, a clinical psychologist, said good sleep should be recognised as being important to health in the same way campaigns linked good diet to combating obesity.

“Sleep is a fundamental life process, just like eating and drinking, yet many people have poor sleep and suffer the consequences. Sleep is life’s refuelling station. When we sleep well we generally feel well.”

Professor Espie said people going to their GPs complaining they can’t sleep are often suffering from underlying problems manifesting themselves as sleep problems. “People will go to their GP and say: ‘I don’t sleep well at night.’ But as often as not they are not making the connection between what is happening in their daytime lives.”

Researchers have been unable to identify why Aberdeen residents appear to be the worst sleepers in the country. Theories include the colder climate in the chilly North-east, but the researchers insist it could be other factors, such as higher stress levels among the local population.

Professor Espie, along with a number of specialists, supports using cognitive behavioural therapy which encourages people to think differently about their problems. The sleep survey will also move on to look at how depression, anxiety and stress affect sleep.

A study published in this month’s British Journal of General Practice found patients initially tried to resolve insomnia themselves, before consulting a GP as a last resort, expecting to be prescribed medication.

The conclusion, based on focus group interviews with patients, GPs and nurses, was that practitioners need to empathise, elicit patients’ beliefs and expectations, assess sleep better, and offer a range of treatments, including cognitive and behavioural therapies, tailored to individual needs.

Take part in The Great British Sleep Survey by visiting www.sleepio.com Also on Twitter and Facebook.