Work pressure, smartphones keeping Chinese people awake

Many young Chinese people struggle to get a good night's sleep which could be harming their health, according to the results of a major survey published to mark World Sleep Day.

The Chinese Sleep Research Society surveyed nearly 60,000 people aged 10 to 45, and found that 91 percent of them reported "not having enough sleep" or "still being tired after sleep".

Only about 5.6 percent of respondents said they felt energetic after sleep.

About three quarters of respondents said they experienced difficulty falling asleep, and 13 percent said they really struggled to fall asleep. Only about 11 percent said they could sleep through the night without waking up.

Many respondents cited work pressure as a major influence on their sleep quality, and could lead to bad sleep.

The survey showed 60 percent of the respondents would choose to work instead of sleep.

In general, people with good education background tended to be more self-disciplined about getting enough sleep, but only 5 percent of respondents had a routine daily schedule.

Sleep problems have little direct link to income, working conditions or social status, according to the survey.

"The portion of people with bad sleep is almost the same in different social layers," the report stated.

Surveyors said that stress, anxiety, and low spirits were the main culprits in bad sleep, worsened by the obsession with electronic products that could cause blue light effects disrupting sleep.

Some 93 percent said they would play with smartphones before sleep, watching TV series or shopping online.

Surveyors believed that the random life schedules would lead young Chinese people to have low work efficiency, low appetite, low sexual desire but higher cancer risk.