Most adult Brits struggle to get a good night’s sleep in ― 14% of us get by on “dangerously low” levels of sleep, regularly catching less than five hours of kip. 

A whopping 71% of us don’t reach the recommended 7-9 hours either, Direct  Line Group reports. 

So it can be hard to tell “regular” fatigue from a more chronic sleep condition ― especially if you have a busy job, children, or hear constantly about how “normal” your sleep deprivation is. 

Thankfully, Dr Sanjay Patel, director of the UPMC Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Clinical Program and professor of medicine and epidemiology, told health site Medical Xpress that there are some helpful ways to spot a chronic condition from a simpler period of rough sleep.

When should I worry?

“In general, if [signs of poor sleep are] going on for more than three months, then we think of it as a chronic problem that’s unlikely to get better by itself,” he told the publication. 

Common chronic sleep disorders include insomnia, sleep apnoea (struggling to breathe when you sleep), sleep-wake disorders, and parasomnias (doing things like walking or eating in your sleep). 

Cleveland Clinic explains that you might be experiencing a sleep disorder rather than simply a poor night’s sleep if you regularly notice:

• Struggling to fall asleep, or often taking longer than half an hour to do so
• Not being able to stay asleep, or waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep
• Snoring, especially loudly, gasping, or even choking while asleep
• Feeling like you need to move when you relax, especially if only movement gets rid of the urge (this may be restless leg syndrome
• Feeling like you can’t move when you wake up. 

You might also notice increased daytime fatigue, struggle to focus, increased irritability, and even more frequent accidents and falls.

What’ll happen if I see a GP?

The NHS says that you should see a doctor if your sleep, or lack thereof, is affecting your day-to-day life ― they agree you should visit a GP if issues last for months too. 

Your doctor may offer talking therapy if they feel it’s appropriate, the health service says. 

Sometimes you’ll be referred to a sleep clinic, but the NHS says it’s “rare” for GPs to prescribe sleeping pills these days because they “can have serious side effects and you can become dependent on them.” 

If they are prescribed, it’ll usually only be for a few days.