In a revelation that is unlikely to surprise anyone who’s ever commuted on the 6:30am train while chewing toast and existentialism, the United Kingdom has earned the dubious honour of being the most sleep-deprived country in Europe, according to a new survey by King’s College London and Ipsos. Think of it as gold in the Insomniac Olympics, albeit with under-eye bags instead of medals.
The survey, which asked more than 1,000 Britons about their snoozing habits, revealed that nearly three in four adults are not getting the recommended amount of sleep. The gold standard of slumber, once thought to be about eight hours a night, seems more like an aspirational myth, up there with unicorns, affordable rent and a functioning train timetable.
In fact, researchers found that Brits get an average of just 6.4 hours of sleep on a work night. This places the nation dead last in Europe, making the UK the bleary-eyed underachiever at the continental slumber party. Meanwhile, France, Italy and Spain continue to nap their way through life as if they invented rest, which, considering siestas, they arguably did.
The report also highlighted that poor sleep translates into a nation more irritable, forgetful and prone to emotional overreactions, which might just explain the way we collectively responded to the pizza crust-stuffed election news cycle. Experts warn that not getting enough sleep also increases the risks of depression, heart disease and making regrettable decisions involving late-night online shopping.
But it’s not just Netflix cliffhangers causing the problem. The report cited rising rates of anxiety, a culture of overwork and the modern addiction to scrolling through digital devices while pretending it’s helping us wind down as major sleep saboteurs. One in five adults reported waking up multiple times during the night for reasons ranging from restlessness to the tugging existential dread of it all.
“This should serve as a wake-up call. Sleep is not a luxury, it is a basic human need,” said Professor Bobby Duffy, Director of the Policy Institute at King’s College.
Ironically, many Brits are acutely aware of their sleep deficit yet still find themselves binge-watching four episodes of a series about sleep science at 1:00am, thus multiplying the irony into the early hours. It turns out knowing you’re exhausted is only slightly motivating when you can still keep your eyes open just long enough to see the next cliffhanger resolve.
The government has yet to announce a National Nap Initiative, possibly because it is also sleep-deprived and forgot to schedule the meeting.
But on the bright side, if sleep were tracked like football, at least the UK is finally topping a European league table.