'Junk sleep' fuelling obesity epidemic in UK
Font size:
TechTeam
A quarter of Britons suffer from 'junk sleep', described by experts as sleeplessness epidemic that is costing the British economy millions of pounds in lost productivity.
The epidemic is forcing Britons to take days off work because of exhaustion, a study has suggested. Earlier studies have linked lack of sleep to obesity.
A British survey, commissioned by the nocturnal cramp treatment Crampex, suggested that 15 million workers suffer from 'junk sleep' and take days off work to compensate.
"Sleep interruptions such as stress and muscle cramp disturb this function and can be very detrimental to everyday life, making it impossible to be productive at work and maintain a positive attitude," Chris Idzikowski, of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre who came up with the term, was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail newspaper of Britain.
He said junk sleep was so common it was costing the economy millions of pounds.
According to researchers, stress, noisy neighbours, money worries and long working hours are to blame for the sleeplessness epidemic, as well as the more conventional complaints of muscle cramps, indigestion and small children.
The report said forty-six per cent said they typically got six hours or less each night, while 20 per cent survived on less than five hours'.
Two thirds were "regularly" kept awake by stress and worry, with money the most common source of anxiety, followed by work, family problems and health.
Forty-three per cent complained of noisy neighbours, 31 per cent said back pain kept them up, and a similar number had trouble sleeping because their partner snored, the report said.
An earlier survey compiled by the International Association for the Study of Obesity showed fast food and sedentary lifestyle are fast turning Britons obese, with the British population becoming the fattest people in Europe.
Tackling the obesity problem is set to cost the government in the UK tens of billions of pounds a year by 2050.
The government is in the final stages of a plan that envisages giving the overweight financial incentives to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Restaurants in Britain may soon be forced to introduce a "traffic light" system to guide diners choose healthy dishes in efforts by the government to fight the obesity epidemic in the country.
The system of "traffic light" labelling would provide diners menu with choice of green, amber and red circles to guide them to the healthiest food in the restaurants.
The epidemic is forcing Britons to take days off work because of exhaustion, a study has suggested. Earlier studies have linked lack of sleep to obesity.
A British survey, commissioned by the nocturnal cramp treatment Crampex, suggested that 15 million workers suffer from 'junk sleep' and take days off work to compensate.
"Sleep interruptions such as stress and muscle cramp disturb this function and can be very detrimental to everyday life, making it impossible to be productive at work and maintain a positive attitude," Chris Idzikowski, of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre who came up with the term, was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail newspaper of Britain.
He said junk sleep was so common it was costing the economy millions of pounds.
According to researchers, stress, noisy neighbours, money worries and long working hours are to blame for the sleeplessness epidemic, as well as the more conventional complaints of muscle cramps, indigestion and small children.
The report said forty-six per cent said they typically got six hours or less each night, while 20 per cent survived on less than five hours'.
Two thirds were "regularly" kept awake by stress and worry, with money the most common source of anxiety, followed by work, family problems and health.
Forty-three per cent complained of noisy neighbours, 31 per cent said back pain kept them up, and a similar number had trouble sleeping because their partner snored, the report said.
An earlier survey compiled by the International Association for the Study of Obesity showed fast food and sedentary lifestyle are fast turning Britons obese, with the British population becoming the fattest people in Europe.
Tackling the obesity problem is set to cost the government in the UK tens of billions of pounds a year by 2050.
The government is in the final stages of a plan that envisages giving the overweight financial incentives to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Restaurants in Britain may soon be forced to introduce a "traffic light" system to guide diners choose healthy dishes in efforts by the government to fight the obesity epidemic in the country.
The system of "traffic light" labelling would provide diners menu with choice of green, amber and red circles to guide them to the healthiest food in the restaurants.
del.icio.us
Digg
Technorati
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain text
Comments (0 posted):
Post your comment