Estate agents have topped the poll of professionals suffering from sleep deprivation. They only get five hours and 50 minutes sleep a night - more than two hours less than the daily recommended sleep quota.

It seems the stress of a house price nose dive and slump in the market, is taking its toll. In fact money worries and the credit crunch is driving a wave of sleep deprivation across the UK workforce as a whole according to a study by The Travelodge of over 4,000 British workers.

After estate agents it is lorry and taxi drivers who are missing most ‘shut eye’ sharing an average of just six hours and 16 minutes a night. Third position was claimed by another economy hit profession, bankers, who manage just six hours and 23 minutes of sleep.

Builders and accountants complete the top five, with both getting six hours and 24 minutes of shut eye. The remaining top 10 professions in the sleep deprivation stakes are:

6. IT worker (6hrs and 30mins)
7. Charity worker (6hrs and 31mins)
8. Lawyer (6hrs and 32mins)
9. Engineer (6hrs and 34mins)
10. Call centre worker (6hrs and 34mins)

Leigh McCarron, Travelodge’s Director of sleep said: “It is no surprise that the professions in the industries worst hit by the credit crunch come top of the charts.  We all know that money worries and job security are key drivers of stress which in turn, leads to significant sleep loss.”

The budget hotel chain’s study also revealed the key reasons why 40 per cent of workers regularly experience difficulty getting to sleep:

• Worrying about the pressures of work, especially within the current financial climate.
• Planning on how to make ends meet and keeping the family out of the red.
• Leaving work late, resulting in eating late and going to bed late.
• Having an alcoholic drink at bedtime to help them unwind.
• Coming home and start working again - late into the night, in order to catch up on a heavy work load.

Seventy eight per cent of respondents said they would love to get more sleep if they had the time and 52 per cent of workers will take time off work or spend their weekend catching up on sleep.

McCarron concluded: “Don’t let the credit crunch keep you awake, it’s a vicious circle, although you may fret about your job and have financial worries; you cannot afford to sacrifice your sleep quota. Losing valuable hours of sleep will certainly impact upon your well being and productivity.”

Listed below are Travelodge’s Sleep Director’s top tips to get a good night’s sleep:

• Write down everything that is worrying you before you go to bed, in order to clear your mind.
• Stick to a regular bed time every night. Routine is good. It ensures your natural body clock follows a rhythm.
• Avoid eating after 7pm. Your body needs a couple of hours to digest food, if you go to bed on a full stomach, your brain and body are too busy digesting the food and you will find it more difficult to fall asleep.