This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 17, 2018

PETALING JAYA: A new survey shows that Malaysians generally have a hard time getting good-quality sleep, with nine out of 10 suffering from one or more sleep problems.

In conjunction with World Sleep Day 2018, which took place yesterday, sleep health specialist Am Life International Sdn Bhd has unveiled findings of its inaugural Sleep Survey 2018, which shows that of the top sleep problems encountered, 46% say it is due to waking in the middle of the night, while 32% say they feel tired and unrested in the morning.

Some 31% say they feel sleepy throughout the day.

In fact, 66% of those surveyed say they face such problems at least once a week, Am Life said.

“Six in 10 Malaysians claim that having unhealthy lifestyles and spending too much time on phones have also caused them difficulty to fall asleep and to stay asleep,” the survey said.

Additionally, 52% say they are unable to sleep due to stress, anxiety  and depression, while 26% blame it on environmental issues.

As such, the top five consequences of sleep disorders include having a headache (40%), fatigue (37%), trouble thinking or concentrating (37%), shoulder or neck pain (33%), as well as temperament and mood swings (26%).

The survey also seeks to highlight participants’ awareness of sleep health and finds that Malaysians generally agree that it is important to seek solutions when facing sleeping difficulties; however, 40% say they do not know how.

“People are beginning to take sleep quality very seriously. The relation to one’s health is strongly linked to good sleep having been established firmly in people’s mind. The market will continue to grow with good momentum and the ‘quality sleep market’ industry will be a major trend in the future,” Am Life president and founder Lew Mun Yee told a media briefing yesterday.