Number of children given sleeping pills has doubled in seven years - and even ... trends now

Children are in the grips of sleep crisis with the number of pills dished out doubling in just seven years.

The stresses of modern-day life — including widespread use of phones and tablets — have left youngsters unable to switch off at night.

Prescriptions for sleeping pills have rocketed according to official NHS data, with more than 700,000 issued in 2022.

This is a leap of a quarter in three years and more than double the 339,848 in 2016.

Experts believe the struggle to turn off from modern life is fuelling a sleep crisis, with stresses such as the cost of living and fallout from Covid leaving a generation of children battling to sleep.

Children aged 11 were most frequently given the pills, according to official figures, accounting for 80,274 prescriptions or more than 1,500 a week.

It comes as separate statistics show hundreds of teenagers are being admitted to hospital with sleep disorders, with admissions for conditions such as insomnia almost doubling over a similar period.

NHS figures for 2022 show medics issued 716,464 prescriptions for hypnotics — sleeping tablets and liquid medicine — to children under 16 in England.

This is an increase from 643,998 in the previous 12 months, from 570,147 in 2020 and 339,848 in 2016.

Zoe Bailie, of The Mix, a charity for young people, said: 'The continued increase in the numbers of young people being prescribed sleeping pills is extremely concerning but unfortunately not surprising in the context of the enormous pressures young people are facing.

'Due to the long-term impacts of Covid, the anxiety and uncertainty caused by the cost-of-living crisis and the reduction of youth services, under-25s are struggling to cope, and this is having a knock-on impact on sleeping patterns.'

NHS guidelines say doctors should not normally prescribe sleep medication to kids unless it is for a short-term treatment.