Two-thirds of people say they have no plans to give up unhealthy habits acquired during lockdown, according to a government survey.

Poor diet, drinking more alcohol and harmful sleep habits are among the

things reported by four out of five British people who responded to the YouGov questionnaire.

But almost half said that they were taking more care of their mental health.

Leading behavioural economist Denise Hampson says that the sudden disruption to our old way of life has shaken our routines and habits, with the ambiguity of life in lockdown leading us to replace them with new ones that we find comforting.

Almost a fifth (17%) of people claim to have started drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week (approx. two bottles of wine) during lockdown, and nine percent have taken up smoking. This is more common in 35-44-year-olds.

A third of the public say their eating habits are less healthy now than before lockdown began, and 30% said they had become less active during lockdown.

Denise Hampson explains: ’Nothing we used to do can be taken for granted anymore and we are less clear on what the future holds. This leads to soothing behaviour, to make us feel better, so it’s no surprise we are drinking more alcohol, consuming more social media, smoking and snacking unhealthily.’

The public do seem, however, to be prioritising mental wellbeing. Almost half the nation (45%) have been taking extra steps to look after their mental health during lockdown - from seeking WhatsApp group advice, to following YouTube videos, using smartphone apps, or writing in an old-fashioned diary.

Denise explains that there will be difficulties faced in adapting to post-lockdown life.

’Lockdown happened very fast, so all our old routines were fractured and disrupted all at once. It’s easy to think we’ll just snap back to the way we used to be, but getting out of lockdown is likely to be a much slower process, so we’ll be more likely to carry these new habits with us for some time, and they’ll take a bit of effort to shake off.’The survey was commissioned by self-care app and website Your.MD, whose founder and CEO Matteo Berlucchi said: 'We all want to build healthy routines that last well beyond lockdown. At Your.MD, we’re here to help people achieve that.'Good mental health is a cornerstone of self-care, so it’s significant that a lot of us want to prioritise this, but not our nutrition, fitness and sleep - when of course it’s all connected.'