A young woman in bed, in a file image.fcafotodigital (Getty Images)
Lack of sleep plagues younger adults.
83% of the population between 18 and 34 years old presents some of the symptoms of insomnia disorder and around 13% meet the criteria for it to be chronic, while only one in four recognizes sleeping well and enough.
This is revealed by the survey
: How do young people sleep?
Habits and prevalence of sleep disorders in Spain
, presented this morning jointly by the Mapfre Foundation, the Spanish Society of Neurology and the Spanish Sleep Society at a press conference.
To consider that a person suffers from insomnia disorder, they must meet the six diagnostic criteria included in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD).
For example, having difficulty initiating sleep or waking up early;
notice fatigue, poor concentration or have bad behaviors and that these problems occur at least three times a week and last for at least three months.
Sleep complications have worsened compared to 20 years ago, when the number of people who met the factors for chronic insomnia was half, as cited in the study.
And it is the population under 35 that has noticed it the most.
Other studies indicate that 4 in 10 adults experience symptoms of sleep deprivation.
The general reference is that you need to sleep between seven and nine hours uninterrupted to rest adequately.
But one in three respondents admits that they sleep less, although the figure varies depending on the autonomous community.
The young people of La Rioja, with 41%;
from the Balearic Islands, with 40.1%;
and the Valencian Community, with 39.1%, lead the classification of those who fail to reach the minimum of seven hours.
On the opposite side are the Navarrese, with 23%;
the Castilian-Leonese, with 26.3%;
and the Basques, with 30%.
One of the most common impediments to falling asleep properly is the use of electronic devices just before closing your eyes.
More than 80% of those surveyed confess that they always or almost always use their cell phone or other screens when they are in bed ready to sleep.
The average usage time at that time is 48 minutes and the profiles most likely to spend time with screens are adults between 18 and 23 years old, especially women.
Another of the barriers indicated is the consumption of stimulant substances.
And in this sense, coffee is the undisputed leader, since 69% of young people surveyed consume it daily.
That does not mean, as the insomnia expert from the Spanish Society of Neurology Ana Fernández explains, that it is necessarily harmful.
“Consuming more than four a day is excessive in general and the problem appears when they are taken to avoid daytime drowsiness, as a patch for lack of sleep,” she says.
Tea, ingested daily by 12%;
cola soft drinks with caffeine, by 11%;
and energy drinks with caffeine, by 3%, also affect sleep quality.
The latter have noticed an uptick in consumption among minors, which is why several communities are considering following in Galicia's footsteps to prohibit their purchase before turning 18.
There are certain popular beliefs that alcohol and cannabis help you fall asleep.
This is estimated by 10% of those surveyed who drink beer, wine or other beverages and who admit to doing so to sleep better.
In the case of marijuana, 63% of regular smokers hold this belief.
Nothing could be further from the truth, according to Fernández, who explains that they are “myths.”
“We know that both alcohol and cannabis lead to fragmented, interrupted sleep,” he says.
Doing sports or eating a late dinner also prevents you from falling asleep.
This is stated by Fernández, who advises eating food “about two or three hours before” to facilitate digestion and not doing sports after seven in the afternoon.
When the symptoms of insomnia last for weeks or even months, a series of consequences are triggered that can affect daily life.
The main one is tiredness or fatigue, which appears in half of the cases, followed by a headache, in 39%, and a bad mood or irritability, in 34%.
Other less frequent ones are also detected, such as lack of attention and concentration, poor academic or work performance, and behavior—the latter more common in men.
Among the effects of insomnia, one stands out above the rest, not so much because of its prevalence, but because of its danger.
15% of those under 35 years of age have suffered traffic accidents due to insufficient sleep, either due to lack of attention or drowsiness.
These mishaps occur to a greater extent in men and in the age group of 18 to 23 years.