Music, massage, naps key to sound sleep

Stressing the need to sleep for moderate durations, a Chinese study has urged people to avoid overuse of networking devices and turn to soothing music, massage, and naps for a better sleep.

The Chinese people sleep on an average of eight hours and 50 minutes everyday, but nearly half feel sluggish when awake, found the study prepared to observe Chinese people's sleeping habits and released Tuesday.

The report is based on a survey conducted in November and December through random household visits in 20 cities, 20 towns and 20 villages.

It found some 55 percent of the respondents admitting to their work pressure affecting their sleep patterns, making them resort to various methods to improve their sleep quality.

While observing modern-day media or mode of communication's influence over sleep, the survey found 67.1 percent of people chat on mobile phones or computers before going to sleep, and 43.2 percent of those going to bed after midnight do so due to online gaming and messaging.

The survey noticed a trend in which people in south and west China tend to sleep better than those in the north and east. It found bachelors are sleeping better than the married, said Qin Xiaoming, vice head of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, which sponsored the report.

It also found that the men sleep better than women, and people in rural regions have better sleep quality than their urban counterparts, according to the survey results.