A third of young Scots are insomniacs

More than a third of young people in Scotland suffer from insomnia, a charity claimed today.

The Prince's Trust said as well as suffering from inability to sleep properly, young Scots were also facing increased mental health problems such as panic attacks, self-loathing and depression.

The charity's annual Youth Index found 35 per cent had sleep disorders, 22 per cent said they felt depressed "all" or "most" of the time, and 18 per cent had self-harmed.

More than a quarter of those questioned said they felt insecure all or most of the time.

Trust director Geraldine Gammell said the findings could be because to unemployment. Across the UK, 48 per cent said not having a job caused anxiety and depression and led them to self-harm.

She said: "Unemployment presents a very real and frightening mental health problem for young people in Scotland and the longer they are out of work, the greater the risk."