“Thought carousel in bed: more and more Germans lie awake at night” – under this title
An additional online survey showed that over half of the participants have sleep problems on at least three days per week – that is, they either have difficulty falling asleep or wake up several times during the night.
So do people in Germany really sleep? getting worse?
A closer look shows that the situation has not necessarily developed as dramatically as the report portrays – in the end, the increasing numbers could even be good news.
How is that possible? In this text you will find out why the numbers published by KKH and other health insurance companies also different let read.
Why sleep disorders are still a serious matter
Many people in Germany sleep poorly and suffer from the consequences. From tiredness during the day, problems concentrating and irritability to a higher risk of serious illnesses. This should in no way be downplayed. It is good when sleep disorders are recognized, diagnosed and treated – regardless of whether they become more frequent or not.
Other plausible explanations for the increase in numbers not only tell us something about how Germans sleep – but they also hold lessons for reading statistics in general:
1. Sleep disorders are coded differently
Anyone who has ever received a sick note from a doctor or been referred to a specialist has probably noticed the letter-number combinations on the yellow slip. These are uniform codes behind which specific clinical pictures are hidden
The basis of the codes is the “International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems” (ICD, English: International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems). For example, J06 stands for an acute upper respiratory tract infection, M54 for back pain and E11 for type 2 diabetes mellitus.
The classification system is published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is continually revised to fit the current state of research and to include new clinical pictures.
