Social networks bad for sleep

According to the report, people like Zhang spend an average of 28 minutes on their cellphones, 49 minutes on their iPads and 73 minutes on their computers before they go to sleep.

Yet not many people realize the effects of these activities and about 30 percent of respondents believed it had no connection with their insomnia.

"They can have all these activities, but not in bed," said Yang Lei, a psychiatrist at Peking University No 6 Hospital.

"During the therapy for insomnia patients, we stress that they do nothing in bed but prepare for sleep at night," he said.

The report supported Yang's opinion and suggested that people need to keep away from digital devices for at least an hour before sleep since the lights stimulate their nerves, keep their brains in a state of excitement and disrupt their internal clock.

Chen Yejiong, a housewife in Shanghai, limited her eight-year-old daughter's time to play iPad games at night for the same reasons.

"My daughter doesn't have too much self-control and that's why I need to keep the time between 10 minutes to half an hour (every night) even if she has been crying and begging for the iPad," said Chen, adding the game keeps her daughter in an activated state.

In addition to the interruption of virtual social networks, actual social engagements lasting until dawn - including exciting activities such as karaoke - also contribute to urbanites' insomnia and makes them toss and turn at night.

Shanghai's health authority recently interviewed 1,000 white-collar workers aged 24 to 35, and more than one-third of them admitted they came back home after midnight from social activities at least once a week.

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