Poor Sleep and Health: More Attention to Prevention Needed

Poor sleep significantly affects health. Both too little and too much sleep can increase the risk of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, depression and stroke in adults. In addition, poor sleep can interfere with daily functioning. The social and economic costs due to sleep-related problems, such as absenteeism and reduced school performance, are high. Therefore, more attention to the prevention of sleep problems is necessary.

This appears from the report "Bad sleep: a public health problem?" by the Trimbos Institute, the RIVM and the Brain Foundation.

The report shows that little attention is paid to the prevention of sleep problems. There is a lack of knowledge and proven effective preventive interventions. For the treatment of sleep disorders, there is more supply and knowledge available. Possible starting points for prevention are sleep education, guidelines for good sleep and behavioral interventions. Important focal points are promoting awareness of the importance of healthy sleep, increasing knowledge about the connection between sleep and health, and developing and evaluating preventive interventions.

The report defines good and healthy sleep as sufficient hours of good quality sleep. Poor sleep is defined as too little or too much sleep, and sleep of poor quality. A significant proportion of the population has problems with sleeping well. Risk groups for poor sleep are women, adolescents/young adults, the elderly, the less educated and Dutch people with an immigrant background.