The Sleep Quality and Quantity of PMEB in Hong Kong

Presentation of Survey Findings

香港大學民意研究計劃The University of Hong KongPublic Opinion Programme

Presentation Outline: Presentation Outline: By Dr. Chung Ting YiuBy Dr. Chung Ting Yiu

(Data Analysis)(Data Analysis)

• Research Methodology and Contact Information• The Sleeping Habits and Patterns of HK’s PMEB• Sleep Deprivation and its Effects among HK’s

PMEB• Knowledge on Quality Sleep among HK’s PMEB

Outline of presentation: Outline of presentation: By Dr. Chung Ka Fai

(Analyses and Comments)

• Signs of Sleep Deprivation among PMEB• Occurrence of Insomnia and its Effects

among PMEB• Improving the Quality of Sleep• Great Sleep Strategies

Contact informationContact informationDate of Survey: April 24-26, 2002

Target Population: Local professionals, managers,

executives and businessmen

(PMEB) aged

between 25 and 55

Survey Method: Telephone survey with interviewers

Sample Size: 531 successful cases

Effective Response Rate: 79.8% (Based on the target population)

Sampling Error: Less than 2.2%

The Sleeping Habits and Patterns of PMEB

Self-reported adequacy ofSelf-reported adequacy ofsleep quantitysleep quantity

Not adequate48%

Don't know/Hard to say

1%

Half-half9%

Adequate42%

Respondents’ getting out-of-bed timeRespondents’ getting out-of-bed time

25%

42%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

3:01-4:00

4:01-5:00

5:01-6:00

6:01-7:00

7:01-8:00

8:01-9:00

9:01-10:00

10:01-11:00

11:01-12:00

12:01-13:00

13:01-14:00

14:01-15:00

--- Weekdays--- Weekends

Respondents’ going-to-bed time

34%

38%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

23:01-0:00

0:01-1:00

1:01-2:00

2:01-3:00

3:01-4:00

4:01-5:00

18:01-19:00

19:01-20:00

20:01-21:00

21:01-22:00

22:01-23:00

23:01-0:00

--- Weekdays--- Weekends

Respondents’ bedtime(Combined data)

38%42%34%

25%

0%10%20%30%40%50%

0:01-1:

00

1:01-2:

00

2:01-3:

00

3:01-4:

00

4:01-5:

00

5:01-6:

00

6:01-7:

00

7:01-8:

00

8:01-9:

00

9:01-10

:00

10:01-1

1:00

11:01-1

2:00

12:01-1

3:00

13:01-1

4:00

14:01-1

5:00

18:01-1

9:00

19:01-2

0:00

20:01-2

1:00

21:01-2

2:00

22:01-2

3:00

23:01-0

:00

--- Getting out-of-bed time on weekdays --- Getting out-of-bed time at weekends --- Going-to-bed time on weekdays 　 --- Going-to-bed at weekends

Number of hours of sleep41% 41%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

0-2hrs 2hrs1min-4hrs 4hrs1min-6hrs 6hrs1min-8hrs More than 8hrs

--- Weekdays --- Weekends

Mean Mean after round up Standard error Base

Weekdays 5hrs 56mins 6hrs 3mins 529

Weekends 7hrs 10mins 7hrs 15mins 5mins 528

Activities before bedtime (Percentage of respondents)

60%

37%

12% 9%7% 6% 6% 3% 1%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

TV Reading Net Bath Work Radio Others None DK/ HS

Time needed for falling asleep

6%

18%

15%

22%

4%

< 1%

25%

10%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

0

1-5

6-10

11-15

16-20

21-25

26-30

More than 30

Mean: 19.9mins Standard error: 0.82min Base: 495

Min

A recapitulation• Most respondents got up at 6-7am on

weekdays, and 8-9am during weekends.• Most of the respondents went to bed during

11pm-00am, for both weekdays and weekends.

• On average, respondents slept for 6 hours on weekdays. They slept for 7 hours and 15 minutes at weekends, which is 1 hour and 15 minutes more than that of weekdays.

• Watching TV was the most popular activity within the hour before sleep, as revealed by 60% of the respondents.

Sleep Deprivation and its Effects among PMEB

Frequency of mid-night Frequency of mid-night awakening(s)awakening(s)

47%

29%

17%

5%2% 1%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

0 1 2 3 4 5 or more

Mean: 0.9Standard error: 0.05Base: 506

Reasons for mid-night awakenings(Percentage of respondents) Yes

53%No

47%

(N=266)

23%11%

6%

7%7%7%

11%46%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%DK/ HS

OthersHabitNoise

Anxiety/ NervousnessDreamingParenting

Tiolet

Methods used to fall asleep again at times of Methods used to fall asleep again at times of mid-night awakenings or insomnia mid-night awakenings or insomnia

(Percentage of respondents)(Percentage of respondents)31%

15% 12% 8% 7% 9%

0%10%20%30%40%

Nothing Reading TV

Radio Drinks (eg. milk) DK/ HS

Experience of back pain in the morning

Yes59%

No41%

DK/ HS<1%

Reasons for back pain in the morning(Percentage of respondents)

30%

23%

10%8% 7%

23%

0%

5%10%15%

20%25%30%

35%

Problematicsleepingpostures

Stressfullife

Inadequatesleep

Mattresstoo hard/

soft

Vigorousexercises

DK/ HS

DK/ HS< 1%

Yes59%

No41%

(N=309)

Experience of prolonged bad-quality sleep

Forgotten1%

No56%

Yes43%

Bad-quality Sleep: Effects on daily lives(Percentage of respondents)

73%52% 44% 42% 32% 29%

48% 55% 56% 57% 68% 69%

43%

27%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

WorkPerformance

Self-study Inteerests Exercises Social life Familyrelationship

Sex life

Yes No DK/ HS

No56%

Yes43%

Forgotten 1%

(N=225)

A recapitulation• Three-quarters experienced prolonged Three-quarters experienced prolonged

bad-quality sleep.bad-quality sleep.• A quarter woke up twice or more every A quarter woke up twice or more every

night. night. • If awaken, or suffering from insomnia, If awaken, or suffering from insomnia,

slightly more than 30% would lay in slightly more than 30% would lay in bed doing nothing.bed doing nothing.

• About 60% experienced back pain in About 60% experienced back pain in the morning.the morning.

• Of those who experienced prolonged Of those who experienced prolonged bad-quality sleep, 70% believe their bad-quality sleep, 70% believe their performance at work was affected.performance at work was affected.

Knowledge on Quality Sleep among PMEB

Criteria for quality sleep (Percentages of respondents)

7%

10%18%

22%36%

40%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

DK/ HS

Others

No sleepliness for the whole day

Exceeding a certain amount of sleeping hours

Sleep till a specified time without any interruptions

Uninterrupted sleep

Ways of improving the quality of sleep

(Percentages of respondents)

33%

22% 20% 15% 14%22%

0%

20%

40%

Total relaxation before bedtime Improving the bedroom environmentRegular exercises Balanced dietRegular cycle of resting DK/ HS

Experience of improving the quality of sleep

DK/ HS<1%

No61%

Yes39%

Methods used to improve the quality of sleep (Percentages of respondents)

DK/ HS<1%

No61%

Yes39%

21% 21%

13% 12% 12% 10%4%

0%

10%

20%

30%

Regular exercises Using quality pillowsTotal relaxation before bedtime Balanced sleepUsing quality mattress MediationDK/ HS

(N=192)

Reasons for not attempting to improve the quality of sleep (Percentages of

respondents)

72%

8% 8% 8% 1% 3%

0%

50%

100%

Not necessary Never thought of itNo time Ignorance of the methods availableOthers DK/ HS

Yes39%

No61%

DK/ HS<1%

(N=320)

A recapitulation

• A significant number of respondents regarded uninterrupted sleep till a specified time as the key criterion of quality sleep.

• One-third believed a total relaxation of mind before going to bed was effective in improving the quality of sleep.

• 22% had no ideas of how to improve the quality of sleep.

• More than 60% have never tried to improve the quality of sleep, in which 72% of them believed it was not necessary.

Comments on Research Findings

By Dr. Chung Ka Fai, Assistant Professor

Department of Psychiatry, HKU

• Signs of Sleep Deprivation among PMEB• Occurrence of Insomnia and its Effects

among PMEB• Improving the Quality of Sleep• Great Sleep Strategies

Amount of sleep is insufficient among PMEB (1)• Nearly half (48%) agreed that their amount of sleep is insufficient.

71%60%

53%42% 42% 41%

35%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. I often sleep extra hours on weekend mornings. 2. I often need an alarm clock or other people to wake me up at the appropriate time.3. I sometimes feel drowsy while driving. 4. I often fall asleep watching TV. 5. It's a struggle for me to get out of bed in the morning.6. I often fall asleep in boring meetings or lectures. 7. I often fall asleep while relaxing after lunch or dinner.

Percentage of respondents(Excluding those who answered “inappropriate”)

Amount of sleep is insufficient among PMEB (2)

• 71% often needed to sleep longer during weekends. On average, they slept 1 hr and 15 minutes longer.

• 60% often needed alarm clock or someone to wake them up in each morning and 42% had to struggle hard to wake up each morning.

• 42% often dozed off while watching TV, 41% often dozed off at meetings. 35% often dozed off during rest after lunch or dinner.

• Of particular importance, 53% of those who drove agreed that they sometimes were very sleepy while driving.

• A high proportion of the PMEB (94%) had 1 or more signs indicative of insufficient sleep.

Tests on the signs of sleep deprivation (Collapsed data)

6%

14%

19%

26%

18%

10%

6%

1%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

What is insufficient sleep and

what is sufficient sleep?• Of course there is an individual variation in sleep

requirement, some may need less and some require more

• Although insufficient sleep does not cause harm to our health directly, the result of insufficient sleep, i.e. sleepiness can lead to:• motor vehicle and work-related accidents• impaired performance• neuropsychological dysfunctions, such as decreased

creativity, logical thinking; emotional instability• poor quality of life

What is a Quality Sleep?

• An uninterrupted sleep• Appropriate sleeping time and

hours• The sleep cycle

Insomnia is common among PMEB

• 35% of the respondents often require 30 minutes or more to fall asleep

• 25% often wake 2 times or more during sleep• only half of the subjects (54%) report that they

can sleep more than 85% of the time in bed• 43% had experienced insomnia consecutively

for 3 or more days

Insomnia affect their daytime function

• Subjects who had experiences of insomnia for 3 days or more (43%) reported that their daytime function were affected.

• Areas affected (in decreasing degree of influence) include • work performance (73%)• self-study (52%)• interest (44%)• exercise (43%)• social life (32%)• communication with family (32%), and • sex life (29%)

• Insomnia not only affect our enjoyment on the next day and can perpetuate insomnia in the following night.

A vicious cycle that perpetuate insomnia

Unhealthy Sleep Habit Poor Sleep

Impaired Daytime Function

What can we do to improve our sleep?

• Many people (48%) understand that they have insufficient sleep, but...

• Many people (61%) had not tried to improve their sleep quality, in which 72% of them said they do not need to, …

• Similar to having a good diet habit, a healthy sleep habit is important and easy to obtain: • adequate and regular sleep• regular relaxation activities - exercise, music, yoga, Tai

Chi, etc• devoted the sleeping hours to “sleep”

Great sleep strategies (1)

• Value sleep• Exercise to stay fit• Keep mentally stimulated during the day• Eat a proper diet• Stop smoking• Avoid alcohol or caffeine• Maintain a relaxing atmosphere in the

bedroom

• Avoid trying too hard to get to sleep• Clear your mind at bedtime• Limit your time in bed

Great sleep strategies (2)

The End(Survey Findings soon be available

at http://hkupop.hku.hk)