Chinese �sleep index� shows poor quality rest

02-05-2013

A survey of the sleep habits of China’s population has revealed a discrepancy between the average duration of sleep and the sleep quality achieved by its residents. The investigation by the Chinese Doctor Medical Association took data from a cross-section of China’s society, polling residents of twenty cities, twenty counties and twenty villages in order to get a fair assessment and avoid focusing on particular lifestyles. It was found that although the average sleep duration of the population was eight hours and fifty minutes, the actual quality of sleep was not believed to be good, with around 50% of people claiming to suffer from sleep deprivation symptoms of some sort.

Stress, breathing problems – not specified as sleep apnoea in the study – and ‘nightmares’ were among the main reasons behind the poor sleep quality experienced.

Researchers believe that the findings hint at a lack of understanding towards the importance of sleep in maintaining health and wellbeing.