Apart from insomnia, poor quality of sleep, decreased sleep duration, tiredness after awakening and frequency of using sleeping drugs are important indicators of sleep problems.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of indicators of sleep disturbance, such as quality of sleep, sleep duration, feeling of restfulness in the morning and drug utilization in a randomly selected Polish adult population.

A stratified scheme of sampling involving two steps was used. A representative Polish population sample of 47 924 non-institutionalized adults was interviewed. Assessments of sleep-related problems were based on six questions. Standardized prevalence ratios (SPRs and their 95% confidence intervals) were calculated.

Almost one-tenth of Polish inhabitants usually slept badly or very badly, a problem that was more common among women than men. Quality of sleep decreased together with ageing and this process was more rapid in women than in men over 40 years of age. Highly educated respondents had the highest quality of sleep. Up to one-fifth of the general Polish population usually woke up tired in the morning. Mean sleep duration was 7.7 h, with no gender differences. Usage of over-the-counter (OTC) medications was significantly lower than usage of those prescribed by the physician (5 vs. 16%). Women used OTC drugs twice as often as men.

It would appear to be necessary to introduce educational programmes for the community as well as for general practitioners in order to correct improper attitudes.