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Insomnia is a global problem of our time
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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UK experts are sounding the alarm – more than a third of the country’s population has persistent problems with sleep disorders. This disease is characterized by difficulty falling asleep, a short period of night rest or no rest at all.
Scientists at Northumbria University have identified high levels of acute insomnia and a trend towards its spread. More and more people are suffering from this disease.
The causes of the disorders may be neuroses, cardiovascular and mental illnesses.
Acute insomnia is a diagnosis given to people who have had sleep disturbances for three or more months. Sleep disturbances can cause the onset and development of depression.
Experts have tried to find ways to treat this problem in order to prevent the risk of developing chronic insomnia at an early stage.
Dr Jason Ellis, director of Northumbria University's Centre for Sleep Research, has collaborated with colleagues from the US, Canada and Glasgow to study the phenomenon.
They analyzed the nighttime rest process of patients with sleep disorders and patients who did not have such problems.
It turned out that acute sleep disorders bothered almost nine percent of US residents and eight percent of Britons. Patients complained of fatigue during the day, loss of concentration and the feeling that they did not sleep at all at night.
It has been found that around 32-36% of people in the UK have intermittent insomnia, but such incidents still occur several times a year.
Scientists also discovered that acute insomnia can become chronic in a short period of time – this problem was detected in 21.43% of those suffering from insomnia.
Dr Ellis said the study was the first of its kind and that the findings provided insight into the scale of the problem and how quickly it was spreading. The researchers hoped that further systematic research into insomnia would be possible.
"The information we have obtained is the key to curing a serious problem in the modern world. Our next step will be to study the factors that provoke sleep disorders, as well as methods of combating them."
In order to have a sound sleep at night and feel great during the day, experts advise:
- Go to bed at the same time every day to set your own internal clock. Getting up at a certain time is also important.
- If you wake up at night and can't fall back asleep, don't fight insomnia. Stay in bed and, for example, read a book until sleepiness overtakes you again.
- In the morning, try to wake up at the time you set for yourself and do not try to "watch" an interesting dream. This also applies to weekends - oversleeping on weekends threatens to cause absentmindedness on Mondays.
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