Everyone can take part by completing the Great British Sleep Survey.
Sleep is the single most important health behaviour we have. It affects everything from our day-to-day functioning to our long-term physical and mental health. We need to understand just how we’re sleeping as a nation so we can start helping people sleep better and so lead healthier lives. So I’d urge everyone to help us out by taking part in the Great British Sleep Survey. - Professor Russell Foster, Chair of Circadian Neuroscience and Head of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford,
Professor Colin Espie, Professor of Sleep Medicine at the University of Oxford and lead researcher on the Great British Sleep Survey, added: 'We’d like everyone in Great Britain to tell us how they’re sleeping. The last time this survey was conducted, over 21,000 people took part. This time, we want even more people to become involved with our research. The survey takes just five minutes and everyone who takes part will be helping us to better understand the nation’s sleep.'
The findings from the last Sleep Survey, conducted by Sleepio in 2012 and completed by 21,300 adults, put the average ‘Sleep Score’ in the UK at 5.1: that just scrapes into the ‘Average’ category.[1] Your overall Sleep Score takes into account your sleep pattern and the impact it has on your life. Sleep problems affect 1 in 3 of us at any one time, and about 10% of the population on a chronic basis. A poor night’s sleep can affect our day-to-day life as well as our long-term mental and physical health. Poor sleep can negatively affect our productivity and mood, as well as reduce our ability to concentrate and our energy levels. In the long-term, poor sleep has been found to increase the risk of Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, obesity and anxiety and depression.
The questions have been updated in 2014 by researchers at the University of Oxford based on the latest scientific research. The survey will give you your own Sleep Score depending on your schedule, lifestyle, thoughts & emotions, and health & wellbeing.
The initial findings will be announced later this year. The Great British Sleep Survey will then act as a ‘rolling barometer’ of the nation’s sleep.
[1] A ‘low’ Sleep Score is anything below 5.0; between 5.1 and 7.5 is ‘medium’/ ‘average; 7.6 and above is ‘high.’
About the Great British Sleep Survey
The Great British Sleep Survey was developed by the University of Oxford to gain an insight into how adults in the UK are sleeping. It was designed by Professor Colin Espie, Dr Sophie Bostock and Peter Hames and is based on the most up-to-date scientific research.
The survey is funded by Sleepio, the digital sleep improvement programme from Big Health.
The results will be announced in Autumn 2014 and used to inform future research projects.