Chinese people sleep on average 1.5 hours less than 10 years ago, says study

Beijing, 18 Mar A report on the sleep habits of Chinese people points out that the inhabitants of the Asian country “do not sleep enough” and that their average sleep time is 7.06 hours a day, almost 1.5 hours less than ten years ago, the newspaper The Paper reports today. The study, in which the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences participated, found that only 7.97% of the Chinese population sleeps more than eight hours a day. Compared to data obtained in 2012, the inhabitants of the Asian country fall asleep more than two hours later than ten years ago and wake up 37 minutes later, resulting in a loss of almost an hour and a half of sleep each day. Among the factors affecting sleep duration, the study found that participants postpone bedtime due to mobile phone use and overtime, habits that can also cause sleep disorders such as insomnia. More than half (54 per cent) of respondents said they used their mobile phone “always” before going to sleep and only 7.98 per cent of respondents reported that they did not use their mobile phones “almost never”. The researchers also analyzed the effect of the “double reduction” policy launched last July by the Chinese Executive, which refers to the reduction of the tasks faced by Chinese students both in their compulsory schooling and in extracurricular activities. 61.5 per cent of parents of primary and secondary school students stated that their children go to bed earlier since the implementation of this guideline. However, 38% of parents of primary school students and 50% of parents of high school students stated that their children's sleep time is not yet eight hours. The study was based on some 6,000 surveys of people between 18 and 71 years of age. CHIEF aa/vec/cc