Sleep Survey Summary

First of all, thank you to everyone who filled out the sleep survey on my website. Your time and effort in responding to the questions is really appreciated. Every single respondent took the time to write comments about their sleeping experiences. This information will be so useful in relaying to other people what works and what doesn’t, (in real life), and what some of the consequences are of not sleeping well. Your efforts and comments may help someone else to improve their sleeping habits.

The following is a brief summary of the statistics from the survey:

A more comprehensive report will be included in my forthcoming book about how Brain Coaching is able to help overcome sleeping problems. Many of the issues listed by survey respondents are discussed in more detail in my book. The book is called “Put Insomnia to Sleep” so stay tuned for more information and a publishing date!

Many of the issues raised by the respondents in the survey are discussed in detail, in my forthcoming book.

Sleeping problem:

48% said that they had trouble getting to sleep
83% said they had trouble staying asleep
33% said that they had both problems – getting to sleep and staying asleep. (I know these figures add up to more than 100% but the fact that many people had both problems throws the figures out!)

Average Number of hours sleep per night:

27% said that they only got about 5 hours of sleep per night
23% said 6 hours
22% said 4 hours
9% said that they did get about 7 hours but that it was broken sleep and not very restful
14% said that they got 3 hours or less, and sometimes no sleep.

I really feel for these people and wish I could help them with brain coaching, but as the survey was completely anonymous, I have no way of contacting them, unless they left a phone number in the survey.

Remedies tried over the years:

54% said medication
26% said meditation
24% said music or some sort of calming app
23% said other relaxation techniques
17% said increased physical activity (even sex helped)
15% said a variety of natural remedies (tea, valerian drops etc).

With many individual solutions attempted, eg. Hot bath, counting backwards, massage oils etc. And many of the respondents listed more than one remedy.

Did any of the above work?

40% said nothing worked for them
24% said that medications worked but only for a limited time.
11% said that music and meditation worked for them
5% said that being active worked (ie being so exhausted that they slept)
22% said that their own individual strategies worked, eg, having a set routine, not having coffee or alcohol, etc.

Did these strategies work for long?

77% said either not at all, or only for a limited time
23% said that their particular strategy worked for years. (and these were mainly relaxation techniques, like not ‘fighting’ the issue (More details will be covered in the book)

How did lack of sleep affect their lives? (Note – many respondents listed more than one effect)

56% said that they were moody/ anxious/cranky or depressed
52% said lower energy levels
41 % said that they gained weight (this may or may not be wholly down to sleeplessness, but the research shows that if you are tired and cranky you tend to make poor food choices and other lifestyle choices)
38% said that they were less productive
11% said that they felt foggy in the mind
Interestingly only 3% mentioned that they felt more stressed

Many of these responses are quite alarming in how little sleep people are getting and the subsequent effect on their lives.

I would love to be able to help people who are suffering from these conditions. So please, if you or someone you know has sleeping problems, please get in touch with me, I have been able to help many people with their insomnia, and their life has improved. Brain coaching is relatively inexpensive and not invasive, like some of the treatments available. The only addiction to come out of brain coaching is a natural high of waking up feeling good!

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