Media workers sleep worst: report

Occupations affect people's sleep.

Those with stable jobs are more likely to get a good night's rest, while media employees have the shortest and worst sleep time, according to the 2014 China Sleep Quality Index published by the Chinese Medical Doctors Association.

The report was based on a survey of more than 8,200 respondents, whose experiences were collected since late 2013 through online questionnaires and household interviews in 40 cities and rural locations across China.

The report used an index of 100 to value the sleep quality of Chinese people, setting 60 as the passing line.

The average value of respondents' sleep quality was 66.5, but 36.2 percent of individual respondents scored below 60.

People with the worst index showings worked in the media (56.5), advertising and public relations (58.4), according to the report.

"People in the media industry live under deadlines," said Wei Wenfeng, a journalist with Shaoxing Broadcasting Corp in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province.

"There are all kinds of breaking news and we have to run against time to compete with other media, including new media platforms, such as micro blogs."

It is common for journalists to work overtime and sacrifice meals and sleep. It is also common for them to get calls anytime and rush to different places, Wei added.

He said he works under great pressure, and in a whole year he sleeps well only during Spring Festival.

In fact, people who need to deal with emergencies continually get the least sleep time — on average less than seven hours a day, according to the report.

Media workers get only 6.5 hours' sleep every day, the report said.

The same short-sleepers also suffer most from daytime troubles. About 28.6 percent of people in the media feel sleepy in daytime, while 27.3 percent of advertising and public relations personnel have the same problem.

About 11.5 percent of media, advertising and public relations personnel involved in the survey say they don't have enough energy to deal with work, and 80 percent of media personnel have to rely on an alarm clock to get up.

Those people also have the highest incidence of sleep disorders among people in all professions, the report said.

Du Yangyang, a public relations manager in a Beijing-based company, knows well of how work influences her sleep — in a bad way.

Du is in charge of her company's public relations and follows a frequently changing work schedule every day.

She usually goes to bed at 3 am, and even after falling asleep cannot sleep well, especially when there is a public relations crisis to deal with.

"In the past three days, I slept very badly," Du said, referring to the impact of the March 15 World Consumer Rights Day.

"For the whole night, I was half awake and half asleep, and had a lot of dreams."

Du applauds the report, saying it reflects her need for more and better sleep.

The report, based on a survey conducted by Horizon China, a survey and research company, was sponsored by Sleemon Furniture Co, a Chinese bedroom furniture company.

At the other end of the scale, the survey found that teachers and civil servants are most likely to experience good sleep.

But Chao Yang, a civil servant in Ankang, Shaanxi province, disagrees.

He works in the city's human resources department and often works overtime.

Because it is easy to make mistakes with statistics and paperwork, he has to concentrate all the time and always feels tired after work.

"I don't think I sleep well," Chao said. "Only those who have little to deal with in their mind can sleep well, not me."