Confessions of a serial snoozer are no yawn

I used to think sleep and I were best friends. We can't wait to meet up again and are always on the same wavelength. Even notorious keeper-uppers like jet lag and caffeine can't break our bond. In fact, I rather enjoy getting home after a long flight and having a nice, strong coffee before I turn in for the evening. Or morning. Or afternoon. The time of day means nothing when you're a serial napper.

But now I'm not so sure. I'm starting to think our relationship is actually a bit unhealthy.

I blame a survey that was carried out to mark last month's edition of the annual World Sleep Day. It found that 76 percent of Chinese aged 10 to 45 have sleep disorders, while only 11 percent of the nearly 60,000 people surveyed said they could regularly snooze uninterrupted for the entire night.

The report by the Chinese Sleep Research Society also found that using a computer or mobile phone isn't conducive to a peaceful evening on the pillow either, with about 93 percent of respondents saying they spent time watching TV or shopping on the internet before going to bed.

On the plus side, though, the identification of insomnia as a serious problem in China is in part due to improved standards of living and the growing awareness of health issues.

But it's not just China that is being plagued by this nocturnal nuisance. A study by the University of Warwick in England found that levels of sleep problems in the developing world are approaching those seen in developed nations, linked to a rise in problems like depression and anxiety.

Sufferers have my sympathies. I can imagine few things worse than being shaken awake by invisible fingers then lying there wide-eyed and restless as your stressed-out brain spins like a carousel ride on fast forward. Horrible.

Still, I thought, I'm alright. I mean, the last thing in the world I have is insomnia. If anything it's the opposite ... And that's when it started. I did what you should never do when you think you have a problem: I turned to the internet for answers.

Within minutes I was assaulted by words such as hypersomnia (excessive tiredness) and narcolepsy (where sufferers can fall asleep at any time, including while driving).

But like a true addict I took comfort in the fact that there was no mention of sleepaholics, or overdozers, as I like to call us.

When it comes to sleep disorders, I'm not sure which is worse, but in some ways insomniacs have got it easy. For instance, I'm guessing that when they're invited to a bar to watch the football at 9 pm they don't have to set their phone alarm in case that 40 winks on the sofa overruns.

Despite my doubts, I'm not quite ready for nap time cold turkey just yet. Maybe I'll just cut back a bit. And stop reading surveys.

Contact the writer at graeme@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/11/2017 page2)