Good advice is not enough for a good night’s sleep
Most Danes are familiar with the advice on good sleep, yet many still have unhelpful sleep habits, a new report shows. The researchers behind the report point out that sleep is also shaped by the conditions of everyday life – and that sleep should be considered as part of broader prevention efforts.
Go to bed at the same time, put screens away, get daylight exposure, and avoid caffeine before bedtime. Most Danes are well aware of these recommendations for good sleep, but according to the new report, many have sleep habits that do not reflect this knowledge.
The report has been prepared by the National Institute of Public Health.
More than 6,500 Danes have answered a wide range of questions about their sleep and sleep hygiene, that is, the habits and routines they have during the day and in the evening that can either promote or disturb night-time sleep.
PhD student Hannah Ahrensberg has contributed to the report – and according to her, it paints a complex picture.
“Danes generally have good knowledge of the behaviors that influence sleep. For example, nine out of ten know that maintaining a regular sleep schedule is important, and almost as many are aware that screen use before bedtime can negatively affect sleep. However, this knowledge is not consistently translated into action in everyday life,” she says.
Hannah Ahrensberg points out as an example that one third is outside og get daylight during the morning. One quarter drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages in the evening, and more than half do not have consistent bedtimes and wake-up times.
In total, 78 per cent use screens within two hours before bedtime – and 14 per cent use screens after going to bed.
Sleep hygiene generally improves with age
Poor sleep hygiene is observed in all age groups, but it is most pronounced among younger people.
Among young people, three factors in particular stand out, explains Hannah Ahrensberg. These are screen use at bedtime, worries in bed, and irregular bedtimes.
“In total, 92 per cent of 16–24-year-olds use screens daily up until bedtime. At the same time, only about one in five young people go to bed at the same time every day, and one in four young women report that they often go to bed with worries or feelings of stress, anger or frustration,” she says.
Sleep hygiene generally improves with age and especially people aged 65 years or older more often have fixed bedtimes, a calmer sleeping environment, and spend time outdoors more frequently early in the day.
Sleep hygiene and sleep problems are linked
According to the report, one in five experience sleep problems, that is, difficulty falling asleep, frequent awakenings, and insufficient sleep.
At the same time, the results indicate a link between sleep hygiene and sleep problems.
Among those with a high sleep hygiene, around 12 per cent experience sleep problems, compared with 33 per cent of those with a low sleep hygiene.
“We see a clear pattern where people with higher sleep hygiene report fewer sleep problems. However, since this is a cross-sectional study, we cannot determine whether low sleep hygiene leads to sleep problems or vice versa,” explains Hannah Ahrensberg.
The figure shows the proportion of people with sleep problems across high, moderate, and low sleep hygiene.
Sleep is more than an individual responsibility
Senior researcher Susan Andersen has contributed to the report, and according to her, the results point to a need to integrate sleep into broader prevention efforts. Although many people have knowledge about good sleep, not everyone has the opportunity to act on this knowledge, as sleep problems also extend beyond individual habits and responsibility.
“Sleep may be experienced as an individual project, but how we sleep is shaped by our everyday lives and the conditions we live under. The way society is organized plays a major role, for example, school and work schedules, and our opportunities for physical activity, daylight and disengagement.”
Improving sleep at the population level therefore requires, according to Susan Andersen, that sleep is integrated into broader public health strategies.
“Sleep should be considered alongside other public health areas and included in structural prevention, where we know that collective solutions create the best conditions for healthy habits,” she says.
TrygFonden has funded the study.The Danish National Institute of Public Health has previously published the report Søvn i et folkesundhedsmæssigt perspektiv (In Danish).
Contact: PhD student Hannah Ahrensberg, tel.: 6550 7703, e-mail: hana@sdu.dk; Associate Professor Christina Bjørk Petersen, tel.: 3047 7427, e-mail: chrb@sdu.dk; Senior researcher Susan Andersen, tel.: 6550 7816 or 2013 9319, e-mail: suan@sdu.dk, The National Institute of Public Health, SDU