Sleepless nights are endless and as day approaches, panic sets in; “I have to sleep, because I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow”.
Eight out of ten Dutch (80%) sometimes lies awake at night, mainly due to stress (41%) or money worries (32%). Four out of ten Dutch people always or regularly have sleeping problems. Almost a quarter of the Dutch population usually feels tired, and another 11% even feel very tired. On the other hand, almost half (45%) of all Dutch people usually feel (very) rested. Women feel (very) tired more often than men (43%). Young people feel (very) tired more often than average (52%), while people over 50 feel less often (very) tired (25%).
Man falls asleep after sex, woman wakes up from snoring partner
Although the man often falls asleep after sex, women are often awake because of their snoring partner (18%). The Dutch see opening a window, establishing a steady rhythm or reading a book as the best remedies for insomnia. Women also see benefits in a warm bath, while men expect the effect of taking a nightcap, exercising a lot or having sex. People with structural sleeping problems more often than average have the idea that sleeping pills help.
Short fuse/danger on the road
Almost all Dutch (97%) think that insomnia has consequences, ranging from a short fuse, poor concentration and health problems. People with structural sleep problems also more often think that gloomy feelings can arise. Sleep problems should be taken seriously, according to the vast majority of the population (81%) and 55% also think that people with sleeping problems are a danger on the road.
eHealth
If a cup of warm milk or counting sheep no longer helps and you have chronic sleeping problems, you can also try the Slaap Lekker app from VGZ. You can download it for free via www.VGZ.nl.
About the research
The survey was conducted by Blauw Research in the last quarter of 2011 among 621 Dutch people aged 18 and older. Afterwards, the dataset of the study was reweighted to the population data of the Dutch population based on gender, age and education (low, medium, high). The research results can therefore be regarded as representative of the Dutch population according to gender, age and education (low, medium, high).
