Adults in the UK lose more than 84m hours of sleep every week because of noisy neighbours, new research claims. A quarter of adults are being deprived of 6.5 hours of sleep every week — the equivalent of one night’s sleep — thanks to their neighbour’s noise, the Churchill Home Insurance survey found. Men lose more sleep than women, the figures claim, with a majority of 43 per cent singling out bass-driven music as the most annoying sound. This was followed by couples arguing! Women find DIY activities, such as drilling and hammering, more annoying than men. Men are more affected by human noise than women, including babies crying and children arguing. Despite loud neighbours having such an enormous impact on sleep and health, just a fifth of those affected have spoken to the culprit about their noise levels. The survey also discovered that more than 40 per cent of Londoners lose sleep because of their noisy neighbours, by far the highest proportion of people in any region across the UK. Northern Ireland had the lowest number affected, with just 18 per cent reporting noise issues. Martin Scott, head of Churchill home insurance, said: “Noise can have such a debilitating effect on us, due to the lost sleep, increased stress and sometimes even conflict with neighbours.”
