Participants were asked to report sleep initiation and maintenance problems as well as poor quality sleep along with any asthma symptoms at the start and end of the study.

The results showed those reporting difficulty falling asleep "often" or "almost every night" during the last month had a 65 per cent and 108 per cent increased risk of developing asthma over the following eleven years, respectively.

Similarly, those who reported waking too early without being able to go back to sleep "often" or "almost every night" had a 92 per cent and 36 per cent increased risk of developing asthma.

For people who reported poor quality sleep more than once a week, the risk of developing asthma increased by 94 per cent.

When the researchers looked at patients with chronic insomnia - those who had reported one or more insomnia symptoms at the start and 10 years earlier - they had more than three times the risk of developing asthma.

Dr Strand said: "As insomnia is a manageable condition, an increased focus on the adverse health effects of insomnia could be helpful in the prevention of asthma.

"Further prospective studies are required to confirm the findings of our study."

Last year a survey found 37 per cent of British adults feel they are not getting the right amount of sleep.