SCMP, May 11, 2001: More than 50 per cent of primary and secondary school pupils do not get enough sleep because of examination pressures and too much homework, a survey has found.
Doing homework and preparing for exams were the main causes, but watching television, listening to the radio and chatting on ICQ on the Internet were also factors.
Out of 580 respondents studying between Primary Three and Form Seven, 53.6 per cent said they had not had enough sleep in the past three months.
Of 113 Secondary Five students interviewed, nearly 80 per cent said they slept an average of 6.8 hours per night. Eight hours is commonly thought to be the ideal amount of sleep for youngsters.
The survey was conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups last month.
About 60 per cent of all respondents said they slept less so they could spend more time on revision. Overall, the average sleeping time was 7.7 hours a night.