Insomnia | Insomnia Treatments

Insomnia is rampant but treatable, our survey finds

Consumer Reports magazine: August 2012

If you struggle to keep your eyes open during the day, you’re not alone. Almost 60 percent of subscribers we surveyed about their sleep habits said they had trouble falling or staying asleep, or woke up still feeling tired, at least three times a week.

It’s not surprising that the top reason cited for inadequate sleep among working respondents was job-related stress. And unemployed respondents were even more likely to have sleep problems than those with jobs (69 percent and 59 percent, respectively). But our data yielded some good news, too: Most problem sleepers had found at least one treatment that helped them. And while prescription sleep aids were deemed the most helpful, a number of people who tried alternative methods, such as regular exercise, meditation, yoga, and deep-breathing exercises, said they helped a lot. That suggests that for at least some insomniacs, help is within reach without the side effects.

Other key findings from our survey included the following:

Trouble staying asleep was the most common problem, cited by 57 percent of respondents. Of those, one in three woke up three or more times during a typical night. Women and obese people were more likely than others in our survey to have sleep problems.
Problem sleepers reported having experienced trouble sleeping for 12 years on average. And 9 percent had struggled with sleep for more than half their lives.
About one-third of problem sleepers said that they snored loudly (or had been told that they did), and 77 percent woke up feeling unrested three or more days a week. Together, frequent snoring and waking up tired are the hallmark symptoms of sleep apnea. But overall, only 16 percent had received a diagnosis of apnea or used a CPAP mask, the treatment typically prescribed for the disorder.

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Insomnia is rampant but treatable, our survey finds

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