A new study looked at the main issues that stop people in Warrington from getting a good night’s sleep, with noise and stress discovered to be among the most common problems that affect people currently.
The Noise Issue
The question of how much noise Warrington residents are exposed to was looked at by Zinus, who used Government data to compare the situation here with other parts of the UK. Their overall results revealed Warrington is one of the UK’s noisiest towns, coming second behind Slough on a national level.
Regular exposure to noise of 55 decibels or above was classed as living with constant noise for the purposes of this study, and the researchers discovered that 49% of the local population suffers from this level of noise pollution. This includes the likes of traffic noise, industrial sounds and railway noise.
This isn’t loud enough to do damage to our hearing, as any noise below 70 decibels is generally considered safe. Even above 85 decibels, you’d need to listen for a few hours for the noise to affect your health or hearing. The sounds that Warrington residents live with shouldn’t do them any physical harm over time, but they can harm their sleep patterns.
The 49% of people in Warrington suffering from noise pollution compares to the 60% of Slough residents that live with constant noise, making the Berkshire town the highest in this ranking. Wigan and Greater Manchester also featured highly in the list of places in the UK where noise levels are high enough to stop people from sleeping.
How Stress How Can Affect Us
Stress was another issue looked at in the survey, which revealed that 47% of British adults struggle to get to sleep at least once a week. Researchers also discovered that 57% of the people questioned get less than the recommended eight hours of sleep on most nights.
10% of the respondents pinpointed stress or anxiety as a reason for not sleeping well. A list of the common reasons for PTSD compensation claims shows that this type of stress can arise from issues such as being robbed, witnessing a violent incident, or when a loved one passes away suddenly. Stress and anxiety are among the symptoms, together with irritability, flashbacks and depression. It’s worth noting that for those suffering from PTSD symptoms, one option is to seek legal advice from a professional, which may help to ease some of the stress around your situation.
Thankfully, the survey results offer some common approaches that can help us get a better night’s sleep. These include music, which 28% of respondents used to fall asleep, while humidifiers and fans are other common sleep aids that can counter some of the main reasons for insomnia.
The Sleep Foundation provides some tips for overcoming stress to get to sleep. These include ideas such as sticking to a strict night-time schedule, getting the temperature of the bedroom just right and not using any electronic devices in the bedroom.
There are some widespread reasons for being unable to sleep well that most people will encounter at some point in their lives, so being aware of the possible solutions is worthwhile.
