SLEEP deprived residents of Dorset and the rest of the South West are struggling to get a good night’s kip.

With people losing an hour in bed over the weekend as the clocks went forward, a new sleep study has revealed the region is losing much more than that in the long term. The average person is losing one hour and 48 minutes of sleep a week – over 11 days a year – while struggling to nod off, according to the study commissioned by the makers of new Febreze Sleep Serenity.

Almost nine in ten people have nights of disturbed sleep and one in five reported making mistakes at work following disturbed nights.

Sleep expert Dr Guy Meadows said: “For people in the South West, the continuous struggle with sleep peaks on a Sunday night. Largely it’s due to us going to bed late on a Saturday night, and sleeping in too long the next day. What people may not realise is that this resets your body clock, the part of your brain that tells you when to sleep, telling it to go to bed later the next night.”

He added: “Loss of sleep is having clear negative effects on many people in the region.”