Sleeping? Glasgow excels as the third best city in the world

Glasgow has been named the third best city in the world to get a good night’s sleep, according to a new study.

It was the highest ranking UK city in Vaay’s 2020 City Sleep Index, but was pipped to the top slot by Amsterdam in first and Auckland in second.

To create the list, researchers compared data from 75 countries around the globe.

The cities were chosen for being some of the most well-known metropolises, as well as for their availability of extensive and comparable data.

Glasgow was the only Scottish city chosen for analysis.

Consulting studies from the World Health Organisation, Harvard, The Sleep Foundation and more, Vaay’s research consisted of nine factors that were said to contribute to the overall quality of a person’s sleep.

Mental wellbeing
Physical health
Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol consumption
Overwork
Employment and finances
Chronic pain / environment
Sleep duration
Undersleep.

Scoring an overall 88.6, Glasgow beat off competition from the likes of London, Stockholm and Sydney.

Sao Paulo in Brazil came last with a score of just one, whilst three German cities placed in the top ten.

In a statement revealing the list, Vaay said: “The study starts with mental wellbeing, looking at both mental health and societal stress, including data on anxiety in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has impacted so many lives throughout 2020.

“Physical health is analysed next as levels of activity and obesity impact the quality of sleep, followed by the consumption of caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, which are all linked to poor rest.

“Data for overwork, employment and finances were also collated, as anyone who has experienced money troubles can tell you, sleep is but a dream for those in difficult work or financial situations.

“Next we looked at chronic pain, a major contributor to loss of sleep, and environmental factors such as air, light and noise pollution, which can have long-term impacts on health and sleep.

“Finally, since experts at the US National Sleep Foundation have advised adults to get at least seven hours of shuteye a night, we found the number of minutes that people sleep, as well as the percentage who undersleep according to this recommendation.

“The final results reveal which cities boast the best night’s sleep, and who could do a better job at bedtime.”