This Friday, March 17 marks the 23rd international sleep day. France is not a good student in this area: since 2015, the sleep of the French keeps deteriorating. This is the finding of the 2023 survey by the National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance (INSV), carried out in collaboration with MGEN.
More than 1 in 3 French people suffer from insufficient quality sleep
One of the most important pieces of information, and the most worrying according to the INSV, concerns sleep quality the French. According to the study, a third of those questioned consider not being satisfied with the quality of their sleep, the majority of which are women (44%).
“This result confirms the data from the CoviPrev surveys conducted by Public Health France, which show worsening sleep problems of the French people correlated with the worsening of mental health disorders since the start of the Covid epidemic in March 2020″, comments Doctor Marc Rey, President of the INSV.
“And Europe, 37% of people work staggered hours : they cannot sleep on a regular basis and many have a hard time with it. If we add to this social organization which disturbs the circadian rhythm the series of crises that we have been going through since the Covid and which have an impact on the daily life of the French (war in Ukraine, rising prices, worries regarding pension reform…)it is not surprising to observe such results”, adds Marc Rey. This poor quality of sleep is mainly due to sleep disorders.
Sleep: more than 8 out of 10 people wake up in the middle of the night
Among the respondents, 6 out of 10 complain of sleep difficulties. They are also 8 out of 10 to be affected by nocturnal awakenings. “These nocturnal awakenings occur on average twice a night, and even 2.3 in women, 2.4 in people with anxiety and 2.5 in people with a sleep disorder (insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, sleep/wake rhythm disturbances), as well as in patients taking sleeping pills. If 2/3 of them go back to sleep in less than half an hour, some take almost an hour to fall back into the arms of Morpheus (50 minutes for insomniacs and patients with restless legs syndrome), 14% 1 to 2 hours, and 7% more than 2 hours”, details the study.
These results are worrying when we know that sleep is essential for our proper functioning and that lack of sleep increases the risk of developing many pathologies. However, by adopting a good routine and a healthy lifestyle, it is possible to improve the quality of sleep. INSV experts shared 10 recommendations to follow for a good night’s sleep and thus stay healthy.
