The majority of adults say the cost of living crisis has had a negative impact on their mental and physical health, according to Nuffield Health.
The organisation’s Healthier Nation Index surveyed 8,000 UK adults with 60% reporting the cost of living crisis had adversely affected their physical health, while 59% said the same about their mental health.
When respondents were asked what they thought was having the biggest impact on the nation’s overall health, cost of living was cited as having the most significant impact (63%), followed by lack of physical activity (46%) and lack of mental health support (38%).
In the past year just over a third (34%) said their mental or emotional health had worsened, and a similar number (35%) said the same about their physical health.
Those aged 35–54 were most adversely affected, with 40% reporting a decline in mental health.
Two in five (40%) of those polled said their sleep had worsened, with nearly half (48%) stating their lack of sleep was having a negative impact on their mental health.
On average, those surveyed were only getting five hours and 54 minutes of sleep a night; down from last year when Brits averaged six hours and hours minutes.
This means per week Brits are missing out on 84 minutes of sleep compared to last year, and are over an hour short of the NHS recommendation of 7 hours of sleep a night.
The data also indicated a link between annual salary and sleep, with the highest earners of £75,000 or more per year sleeping on average 6 hours 25 minutes a night.
This was over half an hour more than those earning the national average salary of £33,000 who get five hours 51 minutes.
Respondents’ ability to eat healthily also took a hit, with almost half (47%) saying that healthy food was too expensive to cook at home, due to the cost of energy.
However, the data also indicated a slight improvement in the levels of exercise nationwide for the first time since the survey began in 2020, with Brits spending an hour extra exercising each month compared to last year.
Around a third (32%) of people said they were motivated to exercise because it improved their mental health, up from 27% in 2022.
A further 27% said exercise lifted their mood and helped them feel less anxious or depressed, nearly half (48%) would go for a walk to boost their mental health and one in seven (14%) said they had taken up a sport or exercise to help their mental health.
Exercising outdoors topped the list of the most popular type of activity for boosting physical health, with 38% of Brits saying that was the main way they had exercised in the last year.
While this positive increase meant more people were reaching the NHS’s recommended goal of 150 minutes of moderate activity per week, 76% of the population, down from 81% in 2022, were still not achieving this minimum, with the average Brit reaching just 79 minutes.
Marc Holl, head of primary care at Nuffield Health, said: “The Healthier Nation Index has tracked the state of the nation’s health since 2020 and, as we move from a period of great uncertainty due to the pandemic, the follow-up cost-of-living crisis is having a profound impact on everyone.
“We are passionate about building a healthier nation and know that health is intrinsically connected; struggling with sleep, stress or eating habits can have a huge knock-on effect on all areas of your wellbeing.
“That’s why we’re calling on the nation to #Find5 minutes to look after your body and mind, as just five extra minutes of exercise a day can significantly boost mental and physical wellbeing, whether that’s going for a brisk walk, taking up gardening or carrying heavy shopping bags home.”
