More than 70 percent office workers in Shanghai can't fall asleep easily at night and many depend on drugs for a deep slumber, a recent survey has found. 

The survey, conducted by the Shanghai Workers’ Health Club, interviewed 20,000 workers on telephone and took one year to finish. The respondents were aged between 25 and 45 years.

The survey found that 75.24 percent suffered from insomnia. Of them, 24.26 percent took drugs to get sleep.

A majority of the restless people were white collars working in the IT industry, media, business management and other jobs that require brainwork.

"It's normal for me to work overtime at night. Sometimes I have to accompany my customers after work to build good relations, buying them a drink at bars or coffee houses," said Xiao Lujun, manager of a power equipment firm's local branch.

"I always seem to have something more to do. When I get home, I can't fall asleep immediately, as I try to figure out whether I have done everything for the day and what I am supposed to do next day," continued the 30-year-old, who gets up at 7:30am, although he doesn't get to bed until midnight or even later.

Liu Huayan, a cosmetics salesperson, said sometimes she can't sleep whole nights, worrying about how to finish the monthly quota assigned to her.

"The fast pace of life, irregular living habits and high mental pressure are the main cause of insomnia," said Wang Guisong, a doctor with Renji Hospital's neurosurgery department.

Wang said some have to depend on drugs for treatment, but gradually forge a reliance on the medication for sleep.

According to the survey, of those dependent on drugs to sleep, 97 percent suffer continuous insomnia if they stop taking the pills.

Of the respondents, only 16.7 percent could ensure 7 to 8 hours of sleep a day; 67 percent slept only 5 to 6 hours a day. The rest either had naps shorter than 5 hours or longer than 8 hours. Wang suggested that the most effective way to beat insomnia is to regain normal sleeping habits and learn to release stress.

But sociologists warn that it won't be easy for people to resume normal sleeping habits.

"Late sleeping is actually a trend and a social phenomenon. The more developed a place is, the later the people there go to sleep," said Wu Duo, a sociology professor at East China Normal University. "People in such places, like Shanghai, are busy with their work and work late and even overtime. Insomnia reflects a group stress."

He said entertainment facilities, such as bars and night clubs, and the Internet, which provides online games and chatrooms, also contribute to people's irregular sleeping habits.

(Shanghai Daily March 22, 2005)