Sleep Deprivation Results In Workers Spending Eight Days Off Sick Every Year, Survey Finds
Workers Spend Eight Days Off Sick Every Year Due To Poor Sleep
Natasha Hinde— The Huffington Post UK
Workers in the UK lose between eight and nine days of work every year due to lack of sleep, a new survey has found.
Despite this, a significant amount of people (60% of those surveyed) do not seek help for their sleep problems.
The study of 2,500 people found that three quarters of participants in full-time employment suffer from “non-restorative sleep", which occurs as a result of disrupted sleep patterns.
Those who reported their sleep patterns as "less than average" missed a grand total of 14.6 days of work each year, which is almost double that of an average employee.
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The research was conducted by Big Health, the creators of sleep improvement app Sleepio.
It found that poor sleep negatively impacted on many parts of everyday life including concentration (46%), ability to complete work (38%) and staying awake during the day (27%).
In terms of their personal life, respondents said that energy levels (60%), mood (48%), relationships with other people (35%) and physical health (28%) were the areas most impacted by their poor sleep.
Shockingly, one in five respondents also reported they had fallen asleep while driving in the last year.
Colin Espie, co-founder of Big Health and professor of sleep medicine at the University of Oxford, said: "As we enter the winter months, it’s important that we recognize the widespread effects poor sleep has on our lives.
"Sleep affects us on various levels - mentally, emotionally and physically - so when we have had no or insufficient sleep, we feel the consequences.
"Physically we will feel lethargic and sleepy, mentally we become slowed down with poorer concentration and memory, and emotionally we may become irritable and rather down, with bursts of hyperactivity."
For those who do struggle to drift off, there are a handful of ways in which you can overcome this.
Sleep hygiene focuses on developing a fixed routine by going to bed at a certain time, turning the light off and going straight to sleep.
There's a particular issue with people getting into bed and watching TV or browsing Facebook on their phones. This, said Dr Simon Merritt, a consultant of sleep and respiratory medicine at Conquest Hospital, is detrimental to a person's sleeping cycle.
"We are contactable all of the time, which ten years ago wasn't possible," he told HuffPost UK Lifestyle. "The combination of these devices and being contactable 24 hours a day, means you have no choice not to answer it. It also means that work doesn't just sit within working hours - it leeches into your home life, too."
He added: "Light from electronic devices will also wake you up more. Part of how we know it's time to sleep is because the ambient light level drops.
"My advice is to remove devices and tech from the bedroom, as the room needs to be just for sleep. Your brain needs to associate the bed with just sleeping."
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17 Things To Know About Sleep Apnea
What Is It?(01 of17)
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Sleep apnea is a condition in which your breathing repeatedly stops and starts, the Mayo Clinic notes. There are three main types of the condition: obstructive sleep apnea occurs when your throat muscles relax, central sleep apnea occurs when your brain doesn’t send the right signals to the muscles that control breathing, and complex sleep apnea syndrome occurs when someone has both central and obstructive sleep apnea. (credit:monkeybusinessimages via Getty Images)
Obstructive Sleep Apnea(02 of17)
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The muscles in the back of your throat support your soft palate and when these muscles relax, this can lead to obstructive sleep apnea. The relaxation of those muscles leads to a narrowing or closure of your airways as you breathe in, which can lower the level of oxygen in your blood. Your brain wakes you when it sense this breathing trouble, which is why people with obstructive sleep apnea can wake briefly dozens of times a night. (credit:KatarzynaBialasiewicz via Getty Images)
Central Sleep Apnea (03 of17)
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This type of sleep apnea is less common and occurs when your brain doesn’t send the right signals to the muscles that control breathing. Because of this, you may just stop breathing for short periods of time while sleeping — and your body wakes you when it senses this, interrupting your sleep. (credit:Image Source via Getty Images)
Risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea include excess weight, large neck circumference, a narrowed airway because of genetics or enlarged tonsils or adenoids, age, family history, the use of alcohol or sedatives, smoking, and nasal congestion. Risk factors for central sleep apnea include age, heart disorders, the use of narcotic pain medications, and a history of stroke. (credit:Blend Images/John Fedele via Getty Images)
The Symptoms(06 of17)
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The symptoms of sleep apnea include loud snoring, episodes of breathing cessation during sleep as witnessed by another person, abrupt awakenings accompanied by shortness of breath, waking up with a dry mouth or sore throat, headaches in the morning, trouble staying asleep, and excessive daytime sleepiness. (credit:Justin Horrocks via Getty Images)
Signs Of Sleep Deprivation(07 of17)
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Sleep deprivation with sleep apnea happens because those with the condition wake up multiple times a night. The symptoms of sleep deprivation include depression, fatigue, irritability, reduced attention, concentration issues, memory issues, lost productivity, frequent illness, and auto accidents, according to Dr. Susan Maples, a dentist based in Michigan. (credit:imtmphoto via Getty Images)
Along with the harm to your day-to-day well-being, sleep apnea can have serious health consequences over time. Left untreated, the condition is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease, Maples says. (credit:dina2001 via Getty Images)
The Role Of Obesity(10 of17)
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You can be obese or overweight and not have sleep apnea, or you can have it without being obese or overweight, Maples says. But the connection between the condition and weight can’t be ignored she ads. Obesity — particularly abdominal obesity — is a risk factor for sleep apnea. (credit:Creatas Images via Getty Images)
Sleep Apnea And Weight Loss(11 of17)
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It’s not just that being overweight makes it more likely you’ll have sleep apnea, some research shows sleep apnea can negatively affect the hunger hormones leptin and gherkin, Maples says, making it harder for you to lose weight. (credit:K-Paul via Getty Images)
Do You Pee A Lot?(12 of17)
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If you find yourself getting up in the night to go to the bathroom (known as nocturia), sleep apnea could be the surprising cause. "Patients with sleep apnea develop negative chest wall pressure as they try to breathe through an obstructed airway,” says physician and surgeon Dr. Antonio Pizarro. "The heart responds to this negative pressure by releasing a substance called ANP, which triggers the kidneys to create urine. This fills the bladder more quickly and leads to nocturia.” Talk to your doctor about sleep apnea if are constantly waking up to pee, particularly if you’ve already ruled out a bladder condition. (credit:Rasulovs via Getty Images)
Talk To Your Dentist(13 of17)
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Dentists are often the first to notice signs of sleep apnea because they focus on your teeth, mouth, and head. Signs that can point to the condition include upper teeth that hide the lower teeth when biting down, a small cricomental space or “turkey waddle” in the neck, and a narrow airway opening to the back of the throat, Maples says. (credit:PeopleImages.com via Getty Images)
Ask Your Partner(14 of17)
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It’s hard to know if you’re snoring when you’re asleep, and many people with sleep apnea don’t realize they’re waking multiple times in a night. Ask your partner or a roommate if you snore regularly. (credit:Tara Moore via Getty Images)
Diagnosis (15 of17)
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If you experience loud snoring, shortness of breath or gasping or choking that wakens you, pauses in your breathing during sleep or excessive daytime drowsiness, talk to your physician. You may be recommended for a sleep study in a home or clinic, or you could be examined for other conditions (like enlarged tonsils) that could be causing the apnea. (credit:Tetra Images via Getty Images)
Treatment(16 of17)
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Some sleep apnea can be treated with lifestyle changes alone, including weight loss, exercise, or quitting smoking. In other cases, treating conditions like allergies can improve the condition. For some patients, the use of a CPAP machine or oral appliances can lead to big improvements in sleep. In some cases, surgery is necessary. (credit:Robert Byron via Getty Images)
But Start With Weight Loss(17 of17)
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If your sleep apnea is related to your weight, exercise and improved nutrition can play a role in your treatment. Research has shown exercising four times a week for 12 weeks improved obstructive sleep apnea and improved overall sleep quality, says health coach and personal trainer Joshua Duvauchelle. Three other studies found brisk walking reduced sleep apnea by 25 per cent. "To experience the many health benefits that come with aerobic exercise, Canadian health authorities recommend that we engage in 30 minutes of vigorous exercise a day. Not only will this help with sleep apnea, but you'll also see improvements in every other health metric,” Duvauchelle adds. (credit:Justin Case via Getty Images)
Thought blocking is another technique for those who struggle to sleep because they have a gazillion thoughts racing through their mind when their head hits the pillow.
Merritt suggested repeating the word "the" over and over in your mind to block out all of the other thoughts. "It prevents your brain from thinking about other things," he added.
If all else fails then it might be time to reconsider your dietary choices in the hours leading to bedtime.
"Avoid stimulants such as coffee, tea and other products containing caffeine within six hours of sleep time," said Dr Nazim Nathani from the London Sleep Centre.
"Also, alcohol should not be used as a sleep aid. It distorts the normal sleep structure and causes arousals in the later part of sleep."