A SURVEY has revealed that only ten percent of people in the Echo's region get eight or more hours sleep every night – that’s less sleep than Londoners.

Catching an average of six hours and 26 minutes each evening, it’s a total of 18 minutes less per night than people living in London.

And an overwhelming 73 per cent of the south east public feel that they don’t get enough sleep, with just one in ten waking up recuperated every morning.

The findings are the result of a national poll of 2,000 British adults, by online pharmacy, Chemist 4 U.

When asked what was keeping them up at night, one in four people from across the region claimed the top factor was stress, followed by their partner disturbing them.

In fact, it seems that an other half is a key source of annoyance on a night time, with more than half of people from the south east admitting they find it frustrating when their partner snores, and one in three saying it’s irritating when they take up too much room in the bed. Some 19 per cent also admitted they’re disgusted when their significant other breathes on them during the night.

Taking measures to get more shut-eye, three in ten couples across the region said they sleep in separate bedrooms every now and again, while one in ten do so every night.

The people of the region are also no strangers to sleep-related illnesses, with 62 per cent of those polled acknowledging that they’ve had sleep issues; 21 per cent have experienced insomnia, 6 per cent have had sleep paralysis and 5 percent have slept-walked at some point.

“Sleep plays an important role in both bodily and brain functions, and a lack of it can cause stress, a lack of productivity and change in mood – as well as more serious health conditions. So, some of the statistics surrounding dissatisfaction with the amount of sleep we get don’t really surprise me – as a region, we take sleep seriously, and we’re simply not getting enough of it,” said Shamir Patel, pharmacist at Chemist 4 U.

“However, what is great about these findings, is that it shows that the people of the South East are acknowledging the advantages of ‘switching off’ while in bed, and are taking vital steps to improve their sleeping patterns.”