Young people and women increasingly victims of sleep disorders

This Thursday, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) published a new survey on the health of the Swiss. On this occasion, he focused on sleep disorders, which are now positioning themselves as a major public health problem. In twenty-five years, the proportion of the population suffering from such disorders has increased from around a quarter to a third (26% average sleep disorders and 7% pathological disorders).

Overall, women suffer from it more frequently than men (37% compared to 29%) and it is among those aged 45 to 64 that the proportion of people affected is highest. But it is among young people, between 15 and 39 years old, women and, a fortiori, young women that the proportion has increased the most since the end of the 90s (from 3% to 8% for this last category) .

Beyond physical problems, such as a lack of vitality, sleeping sickness is also a risk factor for mental health. “People suffering from pathological disorders present moderate to severe symptoms of depression much more often than those who do not have sleep disorders (35% versus 4%). Likewise, they more often suffer from psychological distress (18% versus 2%) or moderate to severe symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (25% versus 3%),” explains the OFS.

In addition, sleep disorders can have repercussions in the professional context in terms of absenteeism, job dissatisfaction or risk of burn-out. Thus, 41% of people suffering from pathological disorders are at risk of developing burnout, compared to 29% of those with average disorders and 17% of those without sleep disorders.

The vicious circle of pain