Date:22/03/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/03/22/stories/2005032202580400.htm

Back Urban Indians among early risers worldwide: Survey

Our Bureau

Chennai , March 21

RISE and shine, we were told, and we seem to be doing that, as a study by ACNielsen on sleep habits around the globe discovers.

Urban Indians are among the early risers in the world who wake up before 7 a.m., says the survey, which was conducted among 14,100 consumers over the Internet in 28 countries across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US.

Indonesians are the earliest, with 91 per cent waking up before 7 a.m., followed by Vietnam, the Philippines, and Denmark; India, Germany and Austria occupy the fifth position.

An average of 37 per cent of consumers across the world are not usually asleep until after midnight, but 40 per cent of people in the Asia-Pacific region are up late compared to 34 per cent of Americans and 32 per cent of Europeans, said a release quoting Ms Rajshree Dave, Associate Director (Client Service), ACNielsen ORG-MARG.

A significant percentage of Indians (29 per cent) sleep after midnight, it added.

Indians allow family/children to dictate sleep hours (24 per cent) more than any other country in the Asia-Pacific.

Sixty-one per cent of the Indians surveyed claimed to sleep for seven hours or less. Globally, work hours and habit were stated as major factors dictating sleep schedule.

"There is evidence all around us that people are pushing back their bedtimes, with the increasing number of round-the-clock services available for consumers, the growing importance of 24/7 convenience stores, and of course, the world of the Internet, which never sleeps," said Ms Dave.