Half of Chinese adults not getting 8 hours of sleep, report shows

About half of Chinese adults sleep less than eight hours every night, a new report said on Friday.

The report, released by the Chinese Sleep Research Society, said that last year, Chinese adults slept about 7.4 hours per night on average.

The report is based on a survey of 6,168 people age 18 to 70 from July to November last year.

However, the report also found that 90 percent of the respondents said that their sleep quality is "OK" or "very good", with only 10 percent saying that their sleep quality was "not good" or "very bad".

People with poor education backgrounds have less sleep and lower sleep quality, according to the report. Those with stronger academic backgrounds tended to sleep longer and better, but those who have earned master's or doctorates also reported less, lower-quality sleep.

The report also showed a correlation between the income a person earns and the quality of their sleep.

People from families earning less than 3,000 yuan ($435) per month get the least amount of sleep and experience the worst sleep quality, the report showed, while those with mid-level incomes sleep longer and generally reported good-quality sleep.

For people making more than 10,000 yuan per month, their number of sleep hours is less than those with mid-level incomes, but they reported a better quality of sleep.

The report also found that people who regularly exercise enjoy the best sleep quality, with 85 percent of them saying they have "very good" sleep quality. More than 80 percent said they can fall asleep in less than half an hour, and only 1.8 percent said they have trouble falling asleep.

University students sleep the longest, followed by white-collar workers, blue-collar workers and unemployed people.

However, university students usually stay up late, which is attributed by the use of electronic devices, overthinking, academic burdens and their sleeping environments.

While the majority of university students acknowledge that good sleeping habits are conducive to good health, many say they have not made positive changes to their habits.