The findings of a survey released yesterday by the Sheng Kung Hui (SKH) Macau Social Services Centre show that over 70 percent of the secondary school students covered by the survey are affected by sleep disorders.
Sheng Kung Hui is the Cantonese name for the Anglican Church.
According to a statement provided by the non-governmental organisation yesterday, the survey, which was conducted from November to January, aimed to draw the schools and the parents’ attention to the students’ quality of sleep and mental health.
About 1,600 secondary school students were questioned during the survey period.
According to the survey’s results, more than 20 percent of the respondents said they have “not very good” and “very poor” quality of sleep, while 25 percent said that they sleep less than six hours a day.
According to the survey’s results, respondents suffering “family pressure” and those habitually not involved in sports reported poor emotional health and poor quality of sleep.
The respondents also reported various levels of anxiety issues.
According to the survey, 27 percent of the respondents said they are unable to fall asleep within 30 minutes more than three times a week, while nine percent said they sleep just five hours or less a day. According to the statement, this should be a matter of concern.
Among those who said that they sleep more than seven hours a day, 47.5 percent were junior high school students, while 24.1 percent were senior high school students.
As for the respondents’ main source of help in times of stress, most said they would go to “friends”, accounting for 70.4 percent, while “parents” and “classmates” were chosen by less than half of the respondents.
The statement pointed out that teenagers believe that “friends really understand them” and are less likely to talk to teachers about their problems because they feel the teachers would “make a fuss out of it”. Among those who don’t like to tell teachers about their problems, the findings show, 10.2 percent prefer to talk to “pets”, while 9.7 percent choose to talk to dolls or cuddly toys.
Addressing a press conference about the findings, the SKH representatives recommended that parents and schools should cooperate to protect teenagers’ physical and mental health, and to improve their emotional education to create a healthier life for them.
Representatives of the Sheng Kung Hui (SKH) Macau Social Services Centre address yesterday’s press conference about the findings of a students’ quality-of-sleep survey. – Photo courtesy of TDM
