AS long as I can remember I have been a fidget in bed, frequently turning this way and that to get comfortable. It has not got any worse of late. Not so with others, I learn this week. New research just uncovered reveals that anxiety over redundancy, lack

AS long as I can remember I have been a fidget in bed, frequently turning this way and that to get comfortable.

It has not got any worse of late. Not so with others, I learn this week.

New research just uncovered reveals that anxiety over redundancy, lack of money and the state of the economy are giving more and more stressed out Brits restless nights of tossing and turning.

The investigation conducted for a hotel chain showed that 44 per cent of UK adults are suffering sleep deprivation every night due to adjusting their sleeping position. An expert was quoted as saying that this was an unusually high number, believing that this was because of the added uncertainty in the current economic climate.

This nocturnal movement is described as "sleep-sliding" and those who know how to work out such things say that the average sleeper travels 0.68 metres each night. Luckily for most, this is sideways and back otherwise there would be an awful lot of people turning up at casualty with broken bones after falling out of bed.

These same statisticians reckon that if all these movements were put together the distance travelled each night would be equivalent to going from London to New York and back. There's a little nugget of information which might be useful in dinner party conversation or, perhaps more appropriately, pillow talk.

Possibly one way to ease anxiety and get a restful night would be to go on a family outing.

Researchers have concentrated their inquiring minds into that subject, of course, and came out with their conclusions this week.

Parents wanting a stress-free day out with the kids (ideally, two of them aged around eight) should leave home at 8.37am and travel no more than 51.6 miles.

There should be a toilet stop 27 minutes after setting off (35 minutes into the journey home) and trippers should spend six-and-a-half hours at the beach, theme park or zoo with the children taking part in at least three different activities.

The temperature on the day should be a balmy 20 degrees C. The family will spend �5.50 on souvenirs such as a novelty pen, cuddly toy or stick of rock and return home at 5.50pm.

Follow these simple guidelines and you should have a great time - apart from being stuck in traffic jams on the way there and back because of all those other families travelling at exactly the same time.

I'm ashamed to say that I had not the slightest idea about something which has been going on for a long, long time.

A press release informs me that 2009 marks 21 years of the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme.

It is led by the People's Trust for Endangered Species with co-funding from Natural England to protect this charismatic but threatened native species.

And how will they do that? Among suggestions is encouraging the public to take part in wildlife encounters to spot the elusive creatures, joining a Great Nut Hunt in the autumn or organising a dormouse tea party.

Let me think about that and get back to you.