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Insomnia in adults

How common is insomnia in adults?

Insomnia is very common, especially in older people.

About 4 in 10 adults sleep badly.

Source:
Liljenberg B, Almqvist M, Hetta J, et al.
Age and the prevalence of insomnia in adulthood.
The European Journal of Psychiatry. 1989; 3: 5-12.

¹ One study of more than 9,000 people over age 65 found that:

Source:
Foley DJ, Monjan AA, Brown SL, et al.
Sleep complaints among elderly persons: an epidemiologic study of three communities.
Sleep. 1995; 18: 425-432.

Between 23 in 100 and 34 in 100 people had insomnia
Between 7 in 100 and 15 in 100 people never, or only occasionally, felt rested in the morning.

In this study, women were more likely to have insomnia than men.

Sources for the information on this page:

Liljenberg B, Almqvist M, Hetta J, et al.Age and the prevalence of insomnia in adulthood.The European Journal of Psychiatry. 1989; 3: 5-12.

Foley DJ, Monjan AA, Brown SL, et al.Sleep complaints among elderly persons: an epidemiologic study of three communities.Sleep. 1995; 18: 425-432.

This information was last updated on Feb 05, 2009

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