Sleepless in Sliema: 5 popular sleep tips that actually fuel Malta’s insomnia epidemic

Five pieces of sleep advice that could be making your insomnia worse – the Maltese edition
By Hot Malta staff

Żejtun mother-of-two Rebecca Spiteri used to pride herself on surviving on “four hours, max” during village festa season. “Between band marches, fireworks and preparing qubbajt for the kiosk, who has time to sleep?” she laughs. Yet when September arrived and the petards finally fell silent, Rebecca still found herself staring at the ceiling until 3 a.m., scrolling Facebook Marketplace for antique Maltese tiles she doesn’t even need.

She did what any millennial would: googled “how to sleep better”. The tips seemed sensible – no screens after 10 p.m., camomile tea, a fixed 10-30-minute “power nap” after work. Months later, she was more exhausted than ever and relying on Xanax prescribed by a walk-in clinic in Paola.

Rebecca isn’t alone. A 2022 University of Malta survey found that 42 % of adults on the islands report “clinical-level insomnia symptoms” – up from 28 % pre-COVID. Yet many follow well-meaning advice that, local sleep specialists now warn, can backfire spectacularly in Malta’s unique cultural and climatic context. We asked the experts which golden rules to ditch.

1. “Keep the bedroom icy-cold”
International influencers swear by 18 °C air-conditioning. “But Maltese electricity tariffs punish you for that,” points out Dr. Charmaine Gauci, consultant at Mater Dei’s Sleep Clinic. “Patients set the AC to 16 °C, wake up shivering at 2 a.m., then can’t restart sleep.” Instead, she recommends 22 °C plus a ceiling fan and cotton ħarir sheets – traditional, cheaper, and less likely to trigger sinus headaches from dusty AC units.

2. “Absolutely no naps”
Mediterranean siesta culture clashes with Anglo-Saxon sleep hygiene. “We tell shift workers at the Freeport to delete naps, but a 20-minute riposo after lunch is ingrained,” says occupational therapist Ramon Mifsud. The compromise: keep the nap before 14:00 and limit it to 15 minutes – just enough for a shot of espresso afterwards, not a full drool-on-the-couch cycle that steals night-time sleep pressure.

3. “Replace your mattress every eight years”
Maltese bedrooms are often small, spiral-staircase boxes in 400-year-old town-houses. “Getting a king-size mattress up those steps costs €150 in crane fees,” laughs Sliema removal company owner Tony Camilleri. The result: couples cling to sagging beds far too long. But before you splurge, physiotherapist Stephanie Saliba suggests a €40 Maltese-made coconut-fibre topper sold at Tal-Lira markets – cooler than memory foam and easier to haul upstairs.

4. “Silence is golden”
Tell that to someone living on the route of the St. Gregory’s feast brass band. “Complete quiet is unrealistic, so we reframe it,” says clinical psychologist Dr. Marilyn Xerri. She prescribes “Maltese pink noise”: recordings of gentle wave laps at Għar Lapsi overlaid with distant festa fireworks. “The brain learns these are non-threatening, unlike sudden door-slams from the neighbour’s late-night pastizzi run.”

5. “Rigorous 7-a.m. wake-up – even on weekends”
Farmers maybe, but not Maltese teenagers binge-TikTokking until the muezzin from the Paola mosque calls dawn prayer. Dr. Gauci’s data show adolescents here average 5 h 45 min on school nights, then crash until 2 p.m. on Saturday – a jet-lag that fuels Monday-morning traffic accidents. She negotiated with Archbishop Charles Scicluna to delay first-period catechism in state church schools to 08:30, giving 600 kids an extra 45 minutes. Early results: 17 % drop in reported fatigue-related sick notes.

Community impact
Poor sleep isn’t a private matter. Transport Malta links 12 % of annual road deaths to fatigue; the Malta Chamber of SMEs estimates insomnia costs €32 million yearly in sick leave. Meanwhile, village band clubs complain fewer young drummers can keep pace during marches because “they’re half-asleep,” says Żabbar club president Mario Farrugia.

What to do instead
– Use Malta’s greatest asset: morning sunlight. A 20-minute pre-work swim at Balluta jump-starts body clocks.
– Trade late-night ħobż-biż-żejt for sour-dough and tuna at 19:00; heavy carbs after 21:00 spike core temperature.
– If festa season is near, buy silicone earplugs from the 24-hour Birkirkara pharmacy and accept you’ll still hear the petards – but as Dr. Xerri insists, “it’s the fight against noise that keeps you awake, not the noise itself.”

Rebecca finally ditched the “perfect sleep” checklist. She now switches off Wi-Fi at midnight, sleeps under a breezy ħarir quilt, and allows herself one weekly power-nap after Sunday lunch. “I still hear the village DJ some nights,” she shrugs, “but I’m down to one sleeping pill a month instead of four a week. And I finally stopped buying tiles.”

Conclusion
Malta’s 24-hour summer buzz, limestone walls and tight urban fabric make imported sleep rules unrealistic. Tailoring advice to local habits – and forgiving the odd festa all-nighter – may be the real secret to sweeter dreams on the rock.