Sleepless Nights? How Waiting for Surgery Can Impact Your Sleep & Health

14 Mar 2025

Prioritising Sleep for Better Health

World Sleep Day 2025 falls on Friday, 14th March, with the theme: “Make Sleep Health a Priority.” Hosted by the World Sleep Society, this global event raises awareness of sleep’s essential role in health. Quality sleep supports immunity, mental clarity, emotional balance, and physical recovery, yet it’s often one of the first things to suffer when health issues arise.

For those waiting for elective surgery, pain, stress, and uncertainty can make sleep even harder to come by. Discomfort may prevent finding a restful position, while anxiety over long waiting times and worsening symptoms can lead to racing thoughts and restless nights. Over time, poor sleep can compound existing health issues, making recovery even more challenging.

As we mark World Sleep Day, it’s time to acknowledge the deep connection between sleep and overall health—and the challenges that long waiting times pose to both. Prioritising sleep is not a luxury, but a necessity for well-being and recovery.

The Link Between Sleep & Health

We spend around a third of our lives asleep, yet many of us don’t realise just how essential sleep is to our overall health and well-being. Just like eating, drinking, and breathing, sleep is a vital, involuntary process that our bodies simply cannot function without. It’s not just about feeling well-rested—good-quality sleep is key to both mental and physical health.

While we sleep, our bodies don’t just switch off. Instead, sleep acts as a time for repair, restoration, and recovery—not just for the body, but for the brain too. It’s during this time that we process information, consolidate memories, and carry out essential maintenance to help us function properly during the day. Poor sleep doesn’t just leave you feeling groggy—it can have serious long-term effects on your health.

How Sleep Affects Your Mental Health

It’s well known that poor sleep is linked to poor mental health. Just as a healthy diet and regular exercise support our emotional well-being, so does good-quality sleep. Lack of sleep can leave you feeling irritable, anxious, and struggling to concentrate, and over time, it can contribute to more serious mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.

The Role of Sleep in Physical Health

Beyond mental health, sleep plays a crucial role in keeping your body in balance. Here’s how getting enough sleep helps to protect your physical well-being:

🫀 Supports heart health – Sleep is essential for repairing the heart and blood vessels, reducing the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.
🍽️ Regulates hunger and metabolism – Poor sleep disrupts hunger hormones, increasing levels of ghrelin (which makes you feel hungry) and reducing leptin (which makes you feel full). This imbalance can lead to overeating and, subsequently, weight gain.
💉 Helps control blood sugar levels – Sleep affects how your body responds to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar. Sleep deprivation can result in higher blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
🏋️‍♂️ Supports growth and tissue repair – During deep sleep, the body releases growth hormones, which are essential for muscle repair, cell regeneration, and overall development in children, teens, and adults.
🦠 Strengthens the immune system – A lack of sleep weakens your immune response, making you more vulnerable to common colds, infections, and illnesses.
⚖️ Reduces the risk of chronic health conditions – Long-term sleep deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, and stroke.

How Waiting for Surgery Affects Sleep

For many awaiting elective surgery, sleep becomes a struggle. Pain, anxiety, and uncertainty make it harder to fall and stay asleep, creating a cycle where poor health leads to poor sleep, and poor sleep worsens health issues.

Pain & Discomfort

Chronic pain from conditions like joint problems, hernias, or gallbladder issues can make it difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position. Even if you do fall asleep, pain often causes frequent night-time awakenings, leading to poor-quality rest.

Impact on Mental Well-being: Anxiety & Stress

The uncertainty of when you’ll be treated, how long you’ll have to wait, and whether your condition will worsen can lead to racing thoughts at night, making sleep elusive. Research shows that anxiety levels are significantly higher while waiting for surgery than after the procedure, which directly affects sleep quality and mental well-being.

Prolonged health worries increase the risk of anxiety and depression, both of which contribute to insomnia. Waiting for surgery doesn’t just delay treatment—it can lead to declining physical and mental health, making quality sleep even harder to achieve.

The Solution: Take Control of Your Health & Sleep Better

Waiting for treatment doesn’t have to mean suffering through sleepless nights, ongoing pain, and rising anxiety. With Get Well Soon, you can skip the long referral process and get fast, stress-free access to top consultants at a fixed initial consultation rate.

Getting seen sooner means quicker relief from pain, reduced stress, and ultimately, better sleep—allowing you to move forward with your life and your health, without the uncertainty of waiting lists.

Book Your Consultation & Sleep Easy

With Get Well Soon you can pay for your own elective surgery, without having private medical insurance or needing to claim on your policy if you do have cover. It's called 'self-pay', and leaves you completely free to book a treatment with the consultant of your choice, at the private hospital of your choice.

Select a treatment to explore a map of treatment locations in your area. All patients are different, so whilst the guide prices reflect the amount patients will typically pay, your consultant will advise you of the price for your treatment once they have fully assessed your clinical needs at your initial consultation––but you can sleep easy knowing your initial consultation fee is fixed!

Still unsure? Read Nick Isaac’s story and see firsthand how Get Well Soon revolutionised his healthcare experience!

Conclusion

Your health and sleep are too important to put on to put on-hold. More often than not, the longer you wait for treatment, the more your pain, anxiety, and sleep deprivation can take a toll on your overall well-being––But you don’t have to wait!

Don’t let waiting lists keep you up at night—take charge of your health today with Get Well Soon!