Where in Scotland can you get the best night’s sleep?

AFTER a gruelling working day there are few things more enjoyable than climbing into bed and drifting off to sleep, but research has shown that some Scots are catching a little more shut eye than the rest of us.
Picture: Esme AllenPicture: Esme Allen
Picture: Esme Allen

Edinburghers average six hours and 50 minutes sleep a night - clocking 40 minutes more than the UK’s worst sleepers
The survey, by Jurys Inn Hotel Group, showed that the capital’s residents get more sleep than anywhere else in the UK.

While they are still the longest sleepers in the UK, this is well below the recommended eight hours.

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This sleepy nation could be costing the country millions in lost productivity with one in five (21 per cent) admitting to feeling tired for at least two hours a day, and one in six for more than three hours.

According to Dr. Irshaad Ebrahim Medical Director of The London Sleep Centre, “The number of studies on sleep deprivation and fatigue have shown significant impact on the economy and hence on business. Sleep loss and sleep disorders affect an individual’s performance but also their quality of life. Daytime tiredness in the workplace is likely due to inadequate sleep the night before and/or an underlying undiagnosed sleep disorder such as sleep apnoea.”

Other key findings from the study revealed over 70 per cent of Britons are too stressed to sleep when it’s time to hit the hay, with the number one reason being work:

Worrying about work (25 per cent)

Getting to sleep quickly (24 per cent)

Paying off debts (21 per cent)

Health issues (21 per cent)

Worrying about partners (17 per cent)

Worrying about the amount of sleep they will get (14 per cent)

Relationship issues (13 per cent)

Worrying about family members (12 per cent)

Noises keeping them awake (11 per cent)

Waking up the next day feeling tired (10 per cent)

The Jurys Inn research also revealed that once Britons do finally manage to nod off, the most regular dreams that are being had are sexual fantasies (13 per cent) followed by being chased (10 per cent), falling (9 per cent), phobias (9 per cent) and loosing teeth (7 per cent), which according to experts could be clues about hidden anxieties and sexual inhibitions that are kept tucked away and not thought about.

When commenting on the best way to get a sound night’s sleep, Dr. Ebrahim added “There are three preparation factors for guaranteeing a good night’s sleep: biological, psychological and environmental.

“From an environmental perspective your room should be well ventilated, free of dust and at optimal temperature (between 19 to 21 degrees Celsius), with comfy but loose bedding. Psychological preparedness involves leaving the hour before bed-time as a wind-down part of your day without interacting with computers, hand-held electronic devices, emails etc and using this time to reflect and to relax. Finally, biological preparedness simply means avoiding stimulants e.g. caffeine and alcohol in the four hours prior to sleep time and ensuring you exercise regularly in the morning and not after 5pm”.

Commenting on the findings, Suzanne Cannon, of Jurys Inn said: “It’s troubling to see how many Brits are stressed when bedtime comes around. Interestingly, our research told us that sleep deprived Brits find having a decent mattress (29 per cent), clean sheets (28 per cent) and black out curtains (22 per cent) are key to bagging a better night’s sleep.

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