What’s driving the Gen Z sleep crisis?
REPORT
7 Mar 2024
What’s driving the Gen Z sleep crisis?

Young people are struggling to sleep more than any other age group because of increased screen time and growing anxiety. Instead of turning to medical professionals, they’re visiting TikTok for at-home remedies and supplements. How can mainstream health brands tap into this experimental mood?

Heather Darwall-Smith

Heather Darwall-Smith is a psychotherapist and bodyworker specialising in sleep, including circadian rhythm disorders, neurodiversity, and insomnia. With a master's in mindfulness-based psychotherapy and UKCP accreditation, she has honed her expertise training in sleep science at the University of Oxford. Darwall-Smith's innovative approach helps clients find freedom in their relationship to stress and sleep. As a dynamic speaker, media spokesperson, and trainer, she captivates audiences worldwide, making complex sleep science accessible and engaging. She authored The Science of Sleep and is set to publish her second book, How to Be Awake (So You Can Sleep Through the Night), in early 2025.

Maryanne Taylor

Maryanne Taylor is a sleep consultant and founder of The Sleep Works. She specialises in the sleep of adolescents and adults. In 2015, she completed a comprehensive integrative adult sleep coach certification program and trained with the NHS in CBT for Insomnia (CBTi), which is now considered the gold standard treatment for insomnia.

Sophie Medlin

Sophie Medlin is director and specialist dietitian at City Dieticians. She's a consultant dietitian and is the chair of the British Dietetic Association for London. Medlin has expertise in gastrointestinal and colorectal health. She worked in acute hospitals specialising in gastrointestinal diseases before moving into academia, where she worked as a lecturer at King’s College. She also works as a consultant in product development for the manufacture of vitamins and probiotics and enjoys applying her academic research skills in the commercial sector.

Eleanor Peake

Eleanor Peake is a features writer at the i newspaper, covering health, lifestyle, and money. She has written for the New Statesman, WIRED magazine, Vice, and Vogue.