Forget New York being the city that never sleeps, as according to a recent study it seems Manchester is a sleep-deprived spot – perhaps location plays a factor in those sleepless nights you may be having after all… Experts at Make My Blinds carried out research to reveal the areas of England where residents are getting the best and worst night’s sleep and Manchester was in the top five cities for the worst night’s sleep.
The study took into account factors such as anxiety levels, life satisfaction, noise complaints, sleep-related online searches, unemployment figures and average working hours, to create an overall sleep score. Manchester was ranked in fifth place for the worst night’s sleep (3.38 out of 10 overall sleep score), however Hull took the top spot as the most sleep-deprived area in England, with an overall sleep score totalling just 1.96 /10.
The areas in England getting the worst sleep (overall sleep score out of 10)
1. Kingston upon Hull (1.96)
2. Liverpool (2.93)
3. Nottingham (3.29)
4. Walsall (3.36)
5. Manchester (3.38)
6. Croydon (3.74)
7. Portsmouth (3.83)
8. Leicester (4.06)
9. Blackpool (4.08)
10. Doncaster (4.1)
Manchester came in fourth place after Liverpool, Birmingham and Dorset for the most sleepless-related Google searches with 4,572 searches per 100,000 residents. The city also came in the top ten cities when it came to anxiety levels, with 26.2% of residents reporting high anxiety levels, however Bolton reported even higher levels than Manchester (28.4%).
And while you may think that being out of a job allows you more sleep time, the opposite is actually true. Manchester ranked in fifth place for unemployment rate (5.8%), however Birmingham recorded the highest unemployment rate at 7.8%.
However, south of the city lack of sleep doesn’t seem to be as much of an issue as the study revealed that Stockport’s residents are getting the best sleep in England, with a score of 8.06 out of 10. Stockport is said to have the fewest number of noise complaints in the study’s top three, with only 3.8 complaints per 1,000 residents.
As for other Greater Manchester boroughs, Wigan was the next best for a good night’s sleep with an overall sleep score of 6.98 and Salford was the second worst borough for sleep after the city of Manchester (4.8).
The areas in England getting the best sleep (overall sleep score out of 10)
1. Stockport (8.06)
2. Cornwall (7.93)
3. Wakefield (7.91)
4. Bedford (7.59)
4. Dorset (7.59)
4. Sefton (7.59)
7. Wokingham (7.57)
8. Northumberland (7.39)
9. Bath and North East Somerset (7.32)
10. Wiltshire (7.1)
You can find the full study by Make My Blinds here.