Cities of London & Westminster MP Nickie Aiken championed a new report from The Sleep Charity.
Their "Dreaming of Change: A Manifesto for Sleep", highlights the serious mental and physical health problems that a lack of sleep can cause among both children and adults. And, it reveals nine in ten of us are experiencing sleep problems.
The UK's National Health Strategy rightly focuses on healthy eating and physical exercise, but Nickie believes it should be expanded to take sleep into account and that more must be done to tackle the problem and make a transformational difference to the lives and wellbeing of many millions of people.
In the Commons, Nickie explained,
"As part of our national health strategy, we rightly emphasise the importance of eating healthily and taking physical exercise, but we do not take sleep into account. Today the Sleep Charity published “Dreaming of Change: a Manifesto for Sleep”, which highlights the serious mental and physical health problems that a lack of sleep can cause among both children and adults. Would my right hon. Friend consider a debate in Government time on the vital public health importance of getting more sleep?"
Penny Mordaunt MP, Leader of the House of Commons, replied,
"I thank my hon. Friend for raising that incredibly important issue. We could run a positive public health campaign; rather than just telling people not to drink or smoke, we should also ask them whether they have had enough sleep. We should be proud of the research that has been done in the UK. Professor Russell Foster at Oxford University has done amazing work which is leading to improvements in the general population, but particularly among veterans who have suffered blast injuries and lost their sight. I would be happy to raise what my hon. Friend has said with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, because I think that that would be a very good initiative."
Read the manifesto here.
