A survey of 358 people found that there were six main disruptors to a good night’s sleep.
The survey was conducted in December, and made up of 95% British people. Over 70% of them were between the ages of 18-25, with 13.9% being 46-55.
Due to this large proportion of young people, the third most disruptive factor was housemates. As fun and lovely as they are, when living in a house full of people in their early twenties, you are bound to experience dysfunctional sleep schedules and different routines all trying to muddle together under one roof.
It, therefore, seems no surprise that you will have the odd night when they run around the halls or make dinner at three in the morning, waking you from your slumber.
A way around this issue may be to ask them to be quieter. Although everyone isn’t always cooperative, and if your housemate is drunk, then that kind of etiquette goes out the window.
Consider investing in sleep masks or earplugs. Next time you’re deciding on a room in a big house, opt for the quietest and farthest one from the kitchen.
The second significant disruption was the noise from the streets. Whatever is happening externally to your window is kind of unavoidable, especially if you are a city dweller or live in a busy suburban area.
116 out of 358 people complained about street noise.
Perhaps something that divides people is that many of us like street noises. Obviously, there’s a difference between shouting and toppling bins compared to the repetitive lull of a passing car, but I myself have always found external noise quite comforting.
There’s something slightly eerie about too much quiet, and the odd murmuring and clattering is quite nice. Although there is a limit.
Similar to housemates, Doze recommends earplugs and making sure your window is closed and sturdy.
With the coming summer months, this becomes even more of an issue, as bedrooms in the UK can become sweltering (click here for our guide to surviving the long summer nights), so it might be a case of using another one of these sleeping in the heat tips rather than leaving your window wide open.
Clearly, noise is a nuisance, but our main disruption, with over double the amount of street noise votes, wasn’t related to ears at all.
The worst offender of a good night’s sleep is stress.
263 of the people in our survey reported that stress was the most significant negative factor affecting their sleep. When we consider the world around us and how challenging it can be to unwind on some evenings, there is no doubt that stress can leave us tossing and turning.
This is echoed in many Doze articles, including our one about children having nightmares.
Jane Teresa Anderson, a dream therapist and analyst, believes that the main reason children have persistent bad dreams is due to stress.
She said: “Not to put it on the parents at all, but if there is stress in the house, obviously the child’s going to pick up on that and be stressed as well.”
With stress, it is a person-to-person and situation-to-situation issue. However, there are many ways to reduce it and hopefully give you a good night’s sleep.
If it’s not exercise or therapy, a winding-down routine at night can really help to alleviate this stress.
Removing laptops and any work from your bed or even your bedroom, reading instead of scrolling and practising mindfulness are all genuine solutions. Even just having a simple cup of tea can provide comforts that keep your mind from whirring.
Doze reviewed a batch of Twining’s sleepy tea and found that many of the ingredients in it were there to reduce stress and anxiety, such as passionflower.
If you would like to know which was our favourite, take a look at our video reviewing them. It was midday when we tried them out, and they all nearly sent us to sleep.
Of this survey, it is clear that stress and noise are significant factors in the way we get our vital eight hours. Hopefully, this article has provided you with some help, or at least the comfort that you’re not alone in your struggle.
Sweet dreams, readers!
