Strictly star opens up on chronic health battles that have spanned 40 years


Singer and actress Toyah Willcox, 66, is set to dazzle on the dance floor in the opening show of this year's Strictly Come Dancing - one of the 15 hopeful celebs vying for the Glitterball trophy. And 80s icon Toyah hasn't shied away from discussing her health struggles. Born with a twisted spine, a clubbed right foot and uneven leg length, the singer - who is paired with pro Neil Jones - has faced her fair share of challenges. But it is her battle with chronic insomnia that she has spoken openly about, having dealt with it for 40 years now.

During Acupuncture Awareness Week in 2013, the star - who has predicted that blind comedian Chris McCausland could be a 'dark horse' in the dance competition - recalled her struggles starting at 14 due to exam stress: "I experienced the typical teenage stress that the pressure of cramming for exams, and then sitting there for hours on end doing them brings. During what felt like a solid month of exam papers, I just stopped sleeping. Once the pattern set in, it became a habit and I never really addressed it because back then no one really talked about insomnia. You'd just had a bad night's sleep.", reports the Mirror.

Toyah said: "My insomnia progressed and soon the hours I slept each night had whittled down from five to three. I hit this pattern where I'd only reach deep sleep between about 8 to 10am and I still have that routine today."

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This lack of sleep persisted during her drama school days and time in a punk band, when a hectic lifestyle made minimal sleep somewhat beneficial. "Over the decades, I just learned to deal with the lack of sleep," she confessed. Despite her insomnia, Toyah has maintained a healthy lifestyle, avoiding smoking and alcohol. Yet, most nights she's awake until 2am. "Doctors have told me that I need to physically lie there, motionless in the dark, to give my joints a rest and let my brain shut down," she explained.

She has experimented with sleep aids before but didn't find them suitable. Toyah recalled: "I took temazepam to help me sleep, but I will never touch that again as it totally zonks you out and is really addictive. It made me grumpy when I tried to wake up and eventually I just thought, 'What's the point? ' So I devised a way of making my insomnia work for me."

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Toyah then decided to give acupuncture a go, having had success with it for muscular pain two decades ago. She embarked on her first session in 2012. "Afterwards, I was immediately sleeping six or seven hours a night," Toyah revealed. "I had less joint pain, my skin looked great and I was so much brighter and full of energy."

"I just thought, 'Wow, that can only be down to acupuncture and the fact that I'm sleeping properly'. Initially I had six weeks of treatment before I moved to having it once a month for a top-up. Since then I've had it about every three months."

She noticed a significant difference when she couldn't make her acupuncture appointments and found herself struggling with sleep again, resorting to 20-minute naps throughout the day.

Toyah in the 80s
Eighties pop star Toyah has suffered from chronic insomnia for 40 years -Credit:Mirrorpix

"The only question I do sometimes ask myself is: 'If I hadn't had chronic insomnia for 40 years would I have achieved more? ' and the honest answer is, 'I'm just not sure'. All I know is that I'll always love acting and singing until the day I walk out on stage and realise that I'm embarrassing myself! " Toyah confessed.

The NHS describes insomnia as a condition where you regularly struggle to sleep. Short-term insomnia lasts less than three months, while anything over that is considered a long-term condition. Adults should ideally get seven to nine hours of sleep each night, according to the NHS, but Toyah was getting far less.