The UK's Laziest Counties

Do you consider yourself a couch potato? Is it your dream to spend the day doing the bare minimum? Our Lazy Scale has revealed that you’re not alone. 

We challenged the nation to answer a series of questions truthfully in a bid to find out how lazy Brits really are. From their exercise habits, the number of takeaways they order and how much sleep they get a night, we were able to analyse which county ranks highest for their bad habits. 

Overall over 26,000 people have taken part. Want to see how you compare with the rest of the UK? Check out the top 30 laziest counties below.

The 30 Laziest Counties in the UK

Buckinghamshire residents are the most sloth-like in the whole of the UK. Completing on average 2 hours of exercise per week, just over an hour of walking a day and getting 7 hours of sleep a night.

Despite being located on the banks of the Thames and home to the Vale of Aylesbury, its residents would prefer a day on the sofa to a walk in the hills. 

In second place is Greater London, who despite raking up an impressive 88 minutes of walking a day, find themselves ordering at least 3 takeaways a week. With more than 8,000 takeaways available to residents in the Greater London area, it’s no surprise that the pull to order entices them multiple times a week. 

For the third laziest county we head west to Bristol. Totalling 7.35 hours of sleep, Bristolians are getting an extra 30 minutes in bed than the average UK resident. However this extra sleep isn’t helping them up their step count with residents only walking for 79 minutes a day.

*the lower the overall score, the lazier the county

Takeaway City, The 10 Regions Who Just Can’t Stop Ordering In

With over 2,075 people for every fast food restaurant in West Central London, more takeaway options are at their fingertips than anywhere else in the country, therefore it’s no surprise that people in the City of London have at least 4 takeaways a week. Busy schedules and long commutes can definitely put Londoners off cooking a meal when they get home, so why not open a takeaway app and get your food delivered straight to your door?

It’s not just Central London that loves a takeaway but Greater London also ranks third for their takeaway frequency, ordering in more than three times a week. 

In second place we see that Antrim residents are also a big fan of ordering in, averaging at 3.5 takeaways a week. Completing 78 minutes of walking a day and 2.5 hours of exercise a week, this Northern Irish county comes in sixth on the lazy scale. 

The 10 Counties Who Can’t Help Hitting Snooze 

Home to one of the most beautiful nature spots the country has to offer, Cumbrians way of life is more outdoorsy than metropolitan. Studies have shown that fresh air can make us feel calm and tired, therefore spending time outdoors during the day can make you feel more tired by the time you go to bed. Completing a total of 93 minutes of walking a day and 3.2 hours of exercise a week, this could definitely have a positive impact on how sleepy Cumbrians can be, helping them get an impressive 7.65 hours of sleep a night. 

Fife comes in second, clocking 7.63 hours of sleep a night, roughly 30 minutes more than the national average. Whilst residents in Fife and Cumbria are sleeping soundly, down in Cornwall residents are managing just under 7.5 hours of sleep, ranking in third for getting the best snooze in the UK. 

According to the NHS, most adults need between 6-9 hours of sleep every night, which means those at the bottom of our scale are in serious need of some extra “zzzs”. To improve your general wellbeing and combat tiredness, it’s important to programme the brain and internal body clock to a set routine.

Dr Lindsay Browning, psychologist, neuroscientist and sleep expert for And So To Bed, said: “When we sleep, our brains physically repair our bodies and regulate important hormones which control the functioning of our bodies during the day. If we don’t get the right amount of sleep or the right kind of sleep then our bodies will not be properly repaired during the night. For example when we sleep our brains wash away the build-up of amyloid plaques which can cause Alzheimer’s disease.

“Also, if we don’t get enough sleep then our brain doesn’t regulate the hormones that control our hunger drive (ghrelin and leptin) leading to weight gain and obesity. Also, we know that our bodies produce our immune response during our sleep and therefore if you are not getting the right amount of sleep, your immune system will be compromised, leaving you at risk of getting more seriously ill with infections or diseases.

 “People who get too little sleep (less than 7 hours per night), or too much sleep (more than 9 hours per night) have been shown to have increased all-cause mortality risk.”

The 10 Counties Who Get The Least Amount of Exercise Per Week

Motivating yourself to get up and get moving takes a lot of effort, but it’s essential for us to stay healthy and improve our wellbeing. The NHS recommends that to stay healthy we must do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week, seems pretty achievable right? 

Well, unfortunately some counties aren’t quite hitting that target. 

Residents in Aberdeenshire are only clocking up 136 minutes of exercise, which is a little over 2 hours per week. However, they are clocking up an impressive 141 minutes of walking per day, potentially rambling on their impressive seacoast or hiking up Ben Macdui. 

In comparison we have Northamptonshire, who only achieve 139 minutes of exercise per week. Ranking in tenth place on our lazy scale, these residents would rather tuck into 2 takeaways a week than exercise for more than 2.5 hours a week. 

Third, and getting the recommended minimum amount of exercise a week is Greater Manchester. Getting 7 hours of sleep a night and walking for 92 minutes a day could certainly influence Mancunians to get into a healthy routine, however they might need to learn to say no to their 3 takeaways a week. 

Try our lazy scale today to see how you compare with the rest of the UK - https://www.greatbeanbags.com/the-lazy-scale/ 

Although we all love to lounge in our bean bags, it is important that we keep moving throughout the day too and get enough sleep at night. Save bean bag lounging for soaking up summer sun on an outdoor bean bag or while you are playing your console on your gaming bean bag.

Methodology 

The Lazy Scale tool was created in 2019, since its launch it has gathered 26,190 people’s data from all over the UK. For the purpose of the study being fair, counties with less than 100 respondents were omitted from ranking.

The rankings were based on getting the least exercise, walking least, sleeping most and having more takeaways to reveal the laziest county.