Research conducted by Click Pharmacy using official NHS England data revealed the number of sleep studies and Sleep Medicine service appointments across England.
Sleep is critically important for all of us, and a lack of sleep can lead to significant damage to both our physical and mental health. Unfortunately, many across England struggle to get a good night’s sleep. While most of us may find it difficult to fall asleep from time to time, there are a significant number of people that suffer from sleep disorders – health conditions that directly impact one’s ability to sleep – and the impact these disorders can have is sadly very severe.
To find out more about how prevalent sleep disorders are in England, Click Pharmacy has conducted thorough research into the number of patients receiving treatment on the NHS. They analysed NHS England data ranging from 2006 all the way up to 2023, to find out how many sleep studies have been conducted over the years, alongside finding out how many Sleep Medicine service appointments have been attended.
Jana Abelovska, Superintendent Pharmacist at Click Pharmacy comments:
“Ideally, your average adult should be getting around 8 hours of sleep each night. This is crucial for ensuring that our bodies are able to recover from the events of the day and have the strength and energy required to put our best foot forward in the morning. However, for many, this is simply not possible – largely due to sleep disorders that make it extremely difficult to sleep through the night.
“Sleep disorders can have a very significant impact on the quality of life of those that suffer from them, often leading to a lack of focus, exhaustion, and even mental health issues such as depression or high levels of stress. Despite being such a serious issue, there is very little discussion over how prevalent sleep disorders are in England.
“Through our research, we aimed to raise awareness about how common sleep disorders are across the country, alongside identifying any trends in terms of the number of patients experiencing sleep troubles over time. What we found indicates that sleep disorders have actually become far more common as time has gone on – which shows an even greater need for awareness and understanding around these conditions.”
The research found that sleep studies and Sleep Medicine service appointments have both become more prevalent over time – suggesting that sleep disorders are unfortunately becoming a bigger issue as time goes on.
Data between January 2006 and April 2023 revealed that the number of sleep studies conducted in 2023 was over three times higher than those in 2006. January 2006 saw 3,614 sleep studies take place throughout the month, in contrast to 12,808 sleep studies that were carried out in January 2023.
This upward trend in sleep studies largely took place after 2014. Up until this point, monthly sleep studies remained below 10,000. In July of 2014, however, there were 10,497 sleep studies recorded for the first time. After this, sleep studies have mostly remained in excess of 10,000 as of the most recent data in April 2023.
In total, 1,825,571 sleep studies were conducted between January 2006 and April 2023.
Broken down regionally, there are some clear disparities between parts of England and the prevalence of those seeking treatment for sleep disorders. Click Pharmacy looked at data from 2012 up until 2023 to determine which regions have seen the highest number of sleep studies in total.
They found that London has seen the highest volume of sleep studies out of any region in England – recording 286,182 sleep studies between 2012 and 2023. In the four months between January and April 2023, London recorded 12,982 sleep studies – a much higher amount than any other region. This equates to 4.53% of the region’s total sleep studies.
The data also revealed that the East of England saw a significant number of sleep studies – recording 192,289 in total – of which 5,891 were carried out between January-April 2023. Similarly, the North West has seen 170,990 sleep studies since 2012, having recorded 5,656 this year as of April 2023.
In contrast, the region that has seen the fewest sleep studies is the East Midlands, which saw just 56,727 sleep studies since 2012. The region also recorded 2,832 sleep studies in the four months between January and April 2023.
As for those that are seeking treatment and therapy through the NHS’ Sleep Medicine service, the data found that appointments have also been on an upward trajectory in recent years. Click Pharmacy found that, between the 30th of April 2021 and 2023, there were a total of 61,020 Sleep Medicine service appointments. Of those, 25,278 appointments took place between January and April 2023 alone – making up 41.42% of total appointments.
In particular, March 2023 saw the highest number of Sleep Medicine service appointments at 7,132. Interestingly, it was 2022 that saw the highest number of appointments at the time of the data being collected – having recorded a total of 33,479 Sleep Medicine service appointments – making up 54.86% of all appointments since April 2021.
