Only 9 percent of Hong Kong people are free from insomnia and the current financial meltdown might play a role in it, a recent survey said.

Between September 19 and October 8 when the financial crisis reached its height, esdlife.com interviewed 1,575 people online to find out the sleeping quality and habit of local citizens. As surveyed, only 9 percent said they did not suffer from insomnia as opposed to 31 percent who constantly had trouble falling asleep. Only 4 percent could sleep sweetly, while 58 percent always woke up in the middle of the night.

As to the number of sleeping hours, 65 percent slept less than eight hours daily on average. In this respect, men fare worse than women as 69 percent of male respondents slept less than eight hours daily as opposed to 61 percent of the female respondents, said Alice Tam, market research manager of esdlife.com.

As analyzed by the pollster, the financial turmoil could be a major factor in insomnia as those who had made bad investments and lost money would understandably feel anxious and could not sleep, while those who did not invest would also worry about the entire financial climate.

In the opinion of physiotherapists, incorrect sleeping postures and unsuitable mattresses might contribute to a longer period of sleep problems such as insomnia.

(HK Edition 10/23/2008 page1)