Intercoil Launches ‘Sleep Matters’ – A Community Initiative Dedicated to Improving Quality of Sleep
Research Finds Half of UAE Residents Have Trouble Sleeping
Dubai, UAE – Sleep Matters, a community initiative aimed at improving people’s lives, was launched today in the UAE to help educate, inform and encourage health and wellbeing for UAE residents. The first and most comprehensive resource in the UAE for all information related to sleep, Sleep Matters (www.sleepmattersme.com) is a platform to unite lifestyle commentators and the community around a shared goal – getting a good night’s sleep.
An initiative created by Intercoil International, the UAE’s leading manufacturer of premium mattresses and bedroom furniture, Sleep Matters brings together a number of influential and experienced lifestyle and healthcare practitioners – Sleep Matters Ambassadors – who believe that broadening the conversation about sleep will contribute to improving the overall wellbeing of the community.
Commenting on the launch of the online platform, Hassan Al Hazeem, Managing Director of Intercoil and a healthy sleep ambassador, said: “Through the nature of our business, we always come across people who are not only looking to buy a mattress or bed, but to improve the quality of their sleep. By raising awareness on the importance of a good night’s sleep and helping people find ways to improve their sleep, we strongly believe this initiative can have a positive impact on people’s lives.”
One of the first activities conducted under the Sleep Matters umbrella, was a comprehensive survey commissioned by Intercoil and conducted by YouGov in February 2014. The study of 425 residents in the UAE revealed that although 35% of respondents claim to sleep better now than 12 months ago, half of them still have a very poor to average night’s sleep.
According to the survey , the top factors that influence the quality of sleep, are daily life worries, stress, bedroom temperature, noise and quality of mattress followed by medical conditions, late dinner and poor diet. Significantly more of those who have trouble falling asleep claim they have ‘a lot of stress in their life’ and ‘worry easily about life in general’.
Overall, respondents sleep an average of 6.5 hours during weekdays and 7.8 hours during weekends, with around 25% of Emiratis and Arab expats claiming to sleep less than 4 hours. 89% of those who always or often have trouble sleeping claimed they “wish they could sleep better at night”.
With a majority of respondents (85%) acknowledging that a healthy sleep leads to a healthy life, two thirds of the total panel claimed that the lack of sleep affects their daily functions.
Commenting on the results of the survey, Dr. Melanie Schlatter, Health Psychologist at Health Psychology UAE said: “Nearly 90% of those who had trouble sleeping appear to be passive in their ‘wish’ for better sleep, which indicates that people just seem to put up with not feeling particularly well rested, and they don’t seem to be aware of the wide range of options available to help them.”
The Sleep Matters Ambassadors who helped bringing this initiative to life and will be contributing their time and expertise to helping the community to identify sleep issues and find ways to improve the quality of their sleep are:
- Dr. Melanie Schlatter – Health Psychologist
- Kaya Peters – Yoga Teacher and Holistic Coach
- Cristiano Falconi – Feng Shui Consultant
- Niloo Soltanpour – Pilates Teacher
- Hassan Al Hazeem – Managing Director of Intercoil
- Dr. Neda Nafei – Chiropractor
For more details on ‘Sleep Matters’ please visit the website: www.sleepmattersme.com
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About Intercoil International:
Established in 1974, Intercoil International is a leading UAE based manufacturer, distributor and retailer of total sleep solutions across the MENA region. The company is a family-owned business, founded by the late Mr. Abbas Ali AI-Hazeem, and currently managed by Mr. Hassan Abbas AI-Hazeem, who is passionately committed to developing Intercoil into a globally recognised brand, achieving sustainable growth and becoming the market leader in orthopaedic sleep systems in the region. With a strong presence in 23 countries and employing 350 people, Intercoil International is committed to increasing its regional presence and expanding its production capacity. Intercoil’s brand promise is to increase awareness about the importance of a healthy sleep and to proudly promote the “Made in UAE” mark. The first in its industry to achieve the ISO9001:2000, ISO14001, and OHSAS18001 quality management certificates, Intercoil is currently ranked fourth in the Dubai SME 100 and has been awarded the Dubai CSR label for the last three consecutive years. Holding the Dubai Quality Appreciation Certificate, Intercoil International produces its own range of foam, mattresses and furniture products and is the exclusive licensee of Therapedic for the GCC and Simmons for the Middle East. In November 2013, Intercoil has been honored with the prestigious Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award, for exceptional business performance.
For more information about Intercoil International, please visit: www.intercoil.com
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UAE Sleeping Habits Research
Executive Summary
- Overall, one respondent in two (51%) has currently a quite/very good sleeping pattern (and a third considers it as average). 49% of respondents have a very poor to average night’s sleep.
- Arab Expats are significantly more likely to have a poor sleeping pattern (25%)
- 35% of respondents claim to sleep better now than 12 months ago (significantly more Emiratis, 68%)
- A quarter of respondents (less so Emiratis) have seen their sleep pattern worsen over the past 12 months
- Overall, respondents sleep an average of 6.5 during weekdays and 7.8 during weekends
- Weekdays:
ü 11% of 18-30 years old sleep 9 hours or more a day (Significantly more than any other age group)
ü 26% of 41+ y.o. (significantly more than other age group) respondents sleep less than 4hours
ü Around 25% of Emiratis and Arab Expats claim to sleep less than 4 hours (significantly more than other nationalities)
- Weekends:
ü Significantly more respondents in Sharjah sleep >8 hours during weekends
ü More than half of respondents sleep 8+ hours, regardless of their age
ü Overall during weekends all nationalities sleep longer hours than weekdays
- For 40% of respondents, “a good night sleep” means a deep, long and continuous sleep. For 32%: no disturbances, noises or interruptions in the middle of the night, and for 27% of respondents, it means a restful, rejuvenating & revitalizing sleep.
- 26% of respondents, always/often have trouble sleeping at night (34% occasionally, and 40% rarely or never)
- 89% of those who always/often have trouble sleeping, claim they ‘wish they could sleep better at night’.
- Main cause is stress related to work, followed by habit of overthinking things, worries in life and children.
- Main solutions suggested by those with sleeping issues at night:
- Praying / listening to prayer: 10%
- Reading: 8%
- Watching TV: 7%
- Sleeping pills: 6%
- Respondents’ ideal night sleep would be mainly one with peace of body and mind (12%), followed by a night having work-life balance (8%), no stress in life and lack of noise (7%), among other descriptions given.
- Top 5 factors that influence quality of sleep according to respondents:
- I. Daily life worries: 84%
- II. Stress: 84%
- III. Bedroom temperature: 77%à Significantly more for women
- IV. Noise: 74%à Significantly more for women
- V. Quality of mattress: 73% à Significantly more for 31-40 years old
- Among those who always/often have trouble sleeping at night, pre-existent medical conditions (74%) are also very influential to their quality of sleep
- Overall, 70% of respondents think that taking care of their health is a priority in life
- 85% of respondents believe that a healthy sleep leads to healthy life. However the majority of respondents who have issues sleeping at night, think that the most important item in the bedroom is a mattress (78%)
- For significantly more Westerners (83%), the quality of the mattress is directly correlated to the quality of the sleep
- Almost 2/3 (62%) claim that their lack of sleep affects their day à significantly more for those who always/often have sleeping problems
- Significantly more respondents who always/often have trouble sleeping at night, have daytime sleepiness affecting their daily functions
- 29% of respondents have looked for information about sleeping issues; the majority of them (67%) in online health sites and other internet websites
- Significantly more women (38%) than men, and more Westerners (45%) than other nationalities, have ever looked for information about sleeping issues.
- Overall, 10% have sought the help of a doctor or a specialist about their sleeping problems, but only 4% (of total number of respondents) were diagnosed with sleeping disorders
- 14% have followed a medical treatment to help them to sleep, mainly via an over-the-counter product bought in the pharmacy
- 10% have been recommended to change their mattress by a healthcare professional, mainly by a GP, followed by a natural medicine specialist
- When choosing a mattress, the main attributes that determine the purchase are: comfort and quality
- Just under half of our respondents (44%) believe a mattress should be changed every 1 or 2 years
- Significantly more Emiratis (41%) and 18-30 year old respondents believe a mattress should be changed every year
- Significantly more women (26%) believe that it should be changed every 5 years
Notes
The survey was conducted by YouGov through online interviews, between 12th and 20th of February 2014, using YouGov proprietary panels. 425 respondents were interviewed participated to represent the UAE demographic profile in terms of gender, age and nationality.
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