We have drift off
Seven in ten people are not getting enough rest – and it can lead to serious health problems such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.
We sleep for two hours less than we did 50 years ago.
The chief culprits are stress, worry, partner disturbance and noise, while more than one in ten blame an uncomfortable bed.
A new Channel 5 documentary called The Science of Sleep: How To Sleep Better sees how TV presenter Gaby Roslin and Dr Amir Khan can help sleep-starved families.
It is a particular hot topic for Gaby, 55, who revealed she has always struggled to get more than five hours’ kip ever since childhood.
She told the Sunday People: “I’ve never slept. As a child I was up all night. Then as a teenager I would be lying in my room at two or three in the morning.
“So I started getting concerned about it because it is weird.”
Gaby has been trying to sort her sleeping pattern out and admits lifestyle changes have helped the most.
Now she walks outside every day and has given up drinking alcohol, which affects your sleep.
And l aying off t he sauvignon has also boosted her confidence.
She said: “Since I have stopped drinking I feel more confident at parties because I know I’m not going to say something totally stupid.
“It’s life changing. I’ve been sober for almost two years.”
Almost a third of us get a poor sleep most nights. And the number of people who sleep for less than five hours a night has shot up from seven per cent to 12 per cent since 2013.
Gaby’s two- part show also lo looks at snoring and night te terrors and why an imbalance o of hormones means we fill u up on junk food when we ar are shattered.
Sleep experts also carry o out an experiment keeping p people awake for 48 hours, with shocking results on a driving simulator.
Gaby’s co-host Dr Amir ta takes sleep very seriously in h his clinic.
He said: “I now ask all my new diabetic patients and heart attack patients, ‘How are you sleeping?’
“They look at me like I’m a bit nuts.
“I don’t t hink we prioritise sleep like we should do. The more you learn about the benefits of s sleep, the more you realise y you need to value it.”
The Science of Sleep: How To Sleep Better is on Wednesday and October 9 at 9pm on Channel 5. DR Amir gives his advice for better nights.
Go to bed at least eight hours before you need to be up. If you want benefits such as a healthy heart and better mood,eight hours is what you need.too much sleep is a myth.
Avoid caffeine. You have two hormones in your body that tell you when to sleep.one, adenosine, starts building as soon as you wake. Coffee blocks the receptors for adenosine. The other is melatonin, which tells you it is night time.
Take naps. Try half an hour to 40 minutes. They say people living on a Mediterranean diet live longest but how they rest may be a factor too.
We need to shut down the brain before going to sleep. Don’t watch TV or read in bed – it keeps your brain ticking over.
Having a warm milk drink before bed or a bath or half an hour not looking at screen is important to get a good night’s sleep.
Lose weight. If you are overweight and snoring, that affects the quality of sleep.that can progress to sleep apnea.