Survey: Stress and Insomnia Hurt Sex Lives of 70% of Chinese

Survey: Stress and Insomnia Hurt Sex Lives of 70% of Chinese
Jan 14, 2013 By eChinacities.com

Editor's note: The following article was translated and edited from an article that was originally posted on ifeng.com. The article summarizes the results of a recent survey studying prevalent health issues among China's young urban white-collar group. The results of the survey, similar to a separate survey conducted several years ago, shows that among other things, a majority of Chinese people are unsatisfied with their sex lives.

Stress from daily life, trouble sleeping and low sexual satisfaction – according to a recent survey conducted by the Chinese Medical Association and the Chinese Hospital Association, these three issues affect a majority of urban white-collar Chinese. The two associations used data aggregated from questionnaires and medical reports to form a sample group of 260,000 urban white-collar Chinese aged between 20-45 years. The results of the study clearly illustrate that the health status of the young white-collar crowd in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen is not looking so good.

70% of respondents frustrated with their sex life

When asked whether they were satisfied with their sex lives, the overwhelming majority of survey respondents, 70 %, answered "No". In the follow-up question inquiring “why not”, more than 20% of people claimed their jobs were too stressful. The results of the survey suggest that this stress, combined with trouble sleeping (see below), have to a certain degree increased psychological pressures, ultimately hurting their sex lives. In addition, research has shown that obesity—a consequence of both inactivity and poor dietary habits—is detrimental to sexual activity for both men and women. For men, obesity leads to lower levels of androgen and increased levels of estrogen, decreasing sexual function to varying degrees. For women, gonadal hormones ("sex glands") are affected by obesity, resulting in reduced libido.

The survey also addresses China's "leftover men" and "leftover women". Since people in this group have no fixed partner to meet their sexual needs, more than 50% of respondents resort to "masturbation", 23% choose to "suppress their desires" and 15% use "adult products". Regarding the number of sexual partners, 69.2% of survey respondents claimed "one", 15.4% claimed "two" and 15.4% claimed "none". Finally, when asked about their frequency of sexual activity, 30.8% of the sample group answered “less than once per month”, 23.1% answered “1-2 times per month” and 23.1% answered “more than five times per month”.

Nearly 80% of respondents have trouble sleeping

On average, one third of a person's life is spent aslee – a process during which both the brain and body rest and recover. Although nearly 70% of Chinese adults surveyed said they get the prescribed 6-8 hours of sleep per night, only 23% said they "sleep well". A second 23% said, "even if they sleep for a long time, they're tired the next day" while a third 23% said that they "wake up feeling dizzy in the morning". A fourth 23% of respondents said that they "have a hard time falling asleep and suffer from insomnia". And the final 8% of respondents are “unable to fall asleep without the use of medicine”. With such a high number of sleep-related problems in the sample group, one can well imagine that they may also have problems with their sex life. 

More than 80% of respondents stressed out

No doubt, trouble sleeping and daily stresses are also closely related. According to the survey, 11.9% of respondents feel "extremely stressed", 35.8% feel "very stressed" and only 17.2% of respondents feel "little stress" or "no stress". As for the main source of their stress, three items came up again and again: Work, family and buying a house (32.3%, 20.8% and 12.2% respectively).

ifeng.com survey

For the sake of comparison, ifeng.com, the website which published this story, included its own topical survey along with the above content. As of January 9, 2013, more than 18,000 readers had participated in the survey. Although the questions present a slightly different angle on the issue, the results are quite similar. 

Do you think that your “sex life” and your overall happiness are related?
Related: sexual satisfaction ensures a happy life 89.72% (16,624 votes)
Not related: life has more pleasures than just sex 7.18% (1,331 votes)
Undecided 3.09% (573 votes)
What is your biggest cause of stress?
Economic pressure 56.3% (10,656 votes)
Work-related 23.52% (4,452 votes)
Family health 4.54% (860 votes)
Raising child 7.96% (1,506 votes)
Other 7.68% (1,453 votes)

Source: fashion.ifeng.com

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Keywords: China sexual satisfaction China insomnia China stress China sex lives

7 Comments

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solhacehabravida

Ambivalentmace . . . why would securing one's legacy be different, even if all the people in the world had the same last name? Or are you just taking a moment to pock fun - which is okay, as far as that goes . . .. I mean I appreciate your pun but . . .. As I have remarked previously, you do seem anything but ambivalent – in fact, you seem quite decided. In any case, animals struggle and fight for their legacy, why should the animal, Homo Sapien, be any different? Eagles mate for life, as do penguins - they just don't get married. But, on the other hand, their status as a 'mated' couple is recognized within their population, that status then is in some sense similar to marriage status. Regardless of how we fight to achieve our legacy, it seems quite normal that people would use whatever means they have at their disposal, within whatever context they have, so as to achieve a legacy. Marriage is a vehicle for pushing forward one's legacy, albeit a needless one -- perhaps a vehicle that has lost its relevance, a means to achieving one’s legacy that comes with costs which are not examined and which are poorly understood, costs that are the result of the legalities of the union, legalities which restricts the nature of humans, costs which do not really recognize that the human context has changed.

Jan 22, 2013 17:17 Report Abuse

solhacehabravida

TO CONCLUDE, AND A BIT IN DEFENSE OF MYSELF . . . because I anticipate some of the negative feedback I will generate. I have been accused, elsewhere of writing too much. But see . . . it is my belief that we people, and especially people who comment on line, are guilty of "not seeing the forest for the trees" and of "not seeing the trees for the forest." My point, my intention, the thing that drives me constantly, is to try and find ways for we commenters to see through the politics and culture that pervades and over-powers are normal common sense. Culture is not real, not in the same sense that what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch is real. Culture is wonderful; I adore my culture and respect the culture of other peoples. But I know that cultures are merely a construct of ideas and those ideas come and go. Yet, it is culture that creates our World. But it is important to distinguish between what is the world and what is real. In the future, when people are living on the moon, the MOON will be part of the WORLD but it shall never be part of the EARTH. The earth is real in a sense different than the 'reality' of our world. MARRIAGE, GOOD SEX, even COUNTRIES are just ideas and those ideas change and often become 'no longer any good to think with.' When we examine the failure of ideas today, such as "poor sexual fulfillment", we must also look at the history of ideas that brought us to where we are. Now, I know this sort of comment might seem radical to some . . . but if you take a moment to ponder what I have said you will see that I am in fact being very simple and basic in my thinking. It is culture and ideas that cause us to make our world confusing. There is much less difference in the world than we might think. When we open our mouths to speak, WE CREATE DIFFERENCES. And, thus, it is our choice to focus on what is DIFFERENT and what is the SAME. IN traditional societies, such as we have here in China, it is very unpopular to accept that all people in the world are primarily the same, little different. Additionally this sort of viewpoint is very politically charged here in China where the common belief is that westerners cannot understand Chinese society because we are not Chinese - this in despite of many obvious proofs to the contrary, such as the fact that a huge portion of western culture was created by Chinese people living in those western countries. The truth is more correctly stated that many western people are unable to accept certain Chinese political ideologies and this translates, for many Chinese, as a lack of understanding on the part of the westerners. Now, there will be those among you who will be, either, annoyed with what I have said here or who will simply not grasp what I have said - many will look at a few words and react politically to what I have said. I accept that I may be deeply wrong in what I have said here but I am passionate about speaking openly about what I observe. So, if you choose to respond, please remember the difference between passion and emotion and keep your emotions in check. Please respond with a passion similar to mine and see that I do not mean to insult anyone. Then too, there are those who comment online because they are intent on what I call 'uploading identity,' creating a persona for themselves online (different than 'downloaded identity' which comes from our parents, peers, teachers, leaders, books etc). We all do this to some extent but I don't want to fall victim to someone out there who attacks me, THE SPEAKER, rather than addressing WHAT I SAY. So, please, I beg your indulgence to have a bit of patience with my efforts to simplify. Thank you

Jan 21, 2013 17:41 Report Abuse

solhacehabravida

ANOTHER LOOK AT A POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSE - MARRIAGE HAS OUTGROWN ITS VALUE I remember reading a couple of surveys, some time back, that suggested only 21% of married women in China were happy. That figure seems very much in line with the results coming out of the survey(s) referenced in the news article discussed here. I also remember reading, someplace, that the instance of married men who have mistresses is higher in China, in Asia, generally, then most any place else. Hmmm, perhaps the problem is marriage itself. Else where I have quoted one of my favorite writers. This Canadian gentleman has often remark on how it is that (I paraphrase) "every idea comes with a best before date; and, thus, there comes a time when every idea runs its course and is then 'no longer any good to think with.'" Marriage, was created, primarily, for economic reasons, or so goes the general understanding of marriage in history. The point is, that a woman knows a baby is hers because the baby comes from her body. But a man does not know that a baby, said to be his, is in fact his . . . and as humans moved to more sedentary life, became farmers, built houses and the modern family unit developed, marriage came along as a means for men to 'own' a women and thus, through means of punishment and control, the man could ensure that he not waste his time and energy on children that were not his. Imagine it is 1910 and I, a strapping 24 year old, ask a lovely young lady, also 24, to marry me. We both promise to "love each other for the rest of our lives." In 1910, the "rest of our lives" meant 20 - 25 years (most people died at 45 - 50 years of age). Now, fast forward a hundred years to 2013. The promise "to love you for the rest of my life" is a much different promise. In 1910 people seldom traveled more than 20 kilometers from their home; there was not very little international travel, no internet, few telephones, no television, no pressure to change. But in our world today, everything around us prompts us to 'buy a new mobile phone, get a new car - indeed two phones, two cars, buy a new home, travel, get a new job, change. In fact, we are considered odd if we do not walk around using our mobile phone as we walk down the street. People are considered 'peasant-like' if they don't travel, or surf the internet constantly, or buy a car. But, yet, we try to keep marriage as sacred. In the West, divorce rates are around 50 percent - half of all marriages end in divorce; one the other hand, married people (for as long as they continue to be married( report much greater happiness than in more traditional cultures such as China. And in the west, people tend to get married for reason associated with romance, passion. Compare this to more traditional cultures such as Chinese society, where divorce is still largely frown upon and where people get married for reasons associated to national or political goals, and for reasons more associated to protecting themselves as they grow old - indeed, China's social 'network' system, it retirement and 'pension' schemes are based on the idea of propagating traditional marriages on into the foreseeable future. Yet, when you look around, is there any place filled with more pressure to change than here in China. Again, here too . . . it occurs to me that those doing the surveys are not really looking at the root causes, which can be defined loosely as huge and counter-productive contradictions within the society. Now, there are contradictions in all societies, and I am found of saying that China is no different form any other country with respect of the problems and challenges the people face. But China is the land of the exponential, as I recently read from another poster here on this site. It seems to me that, until the powers that be take a good hard look at what they have bought and paid for with the forms of social engineering and the pressures still placed on Chinese citizens to conform with notion from the, the surveys do nothing but report, out of context, on outcomes that logic should have predicted, negative outcomes which many others warned the Chinese people they could expect to achieve. Again, I am not being biased here . . . we have forms of social engineer in ever society - how could we not . . . but in China there is less willingness to look at the real root causes, and that is my point.

Jan 21, 2013 17:14 Report Abuse

solhacehabravida

I am not really up on the previous comments, made here, on this topic . . . so pardon me if I am covering the same ground. I certainly agree with the short list of possible contributing factors mentioned by "DaqingDevil." I am not sure, however, what this writer means by "invasion of privacy", unless this reference is made with regard to the general fact that privacy is not so very possible here in China. I can not imagine this reference to "invasion of privacy" refers to the possible invasiveness of the survey itself, unless the those surveyed did not contribute voluntarily. But, in any case, yes, lack of privacy would be a major factor, in my opinion. For, indeed, with people living in cramped quarters, often with three generation in the home, who among us would feel randy; who would feel much sexual 'energy' knowing that our parents and grandparents are sleeping in the same room or in the next room, separated by only concrete walls which echo, in a very un-becoming way, all the precious sighs, the ooohs and ayes, of meaningful love-making. I see so many young folks out on the street looking for a place to moon and spoon. I see so many people steaming up the windows of their parked cars hoping to get a moment's privacy. I am married, though I am not Chinese, and I have to tell you it is quite a turn off knowing that my every word and action, if uttered or made above a whisper or a gentle creak of the bed, can be heard in the stillness of the night by anyone who happens, intentionally or not, to have an ear tuned to the goings on 'next door.' Aside from that, and generally speaking, as always with such surveys and published informationals, here in China, I feel that those doing the survey never really look at root causes. They make assumptions about what is considered normal and proceed from there to do their survey, gather their information. What do I mean by that? Well, though I run the risk of others asking me, what do you mean by "normal", I am going to make my own assumptions and say that, to me, it does not seem normal that people would feel satisfied with any aspect of their life when they live in the conditions common to family life and married couples here in China. These conditions I speak of are related to the 'social engineering' and 'culture education' that has been carried out for generations in China. I mean -- and here I might also use the example of public housing in the west, how could anyone believe that human nature, individuals, could be 'taught' to enjoy living in the cold and aesthetically unpleasing conditions that prevail in 'soviet-style' apartment blocks, or western sytle 'housing projects'. Do you get my meaning? The point I am trying to make is that anyone with a little bit of foresight should have realized that creating such living conditions was not going to result in a much, happy-go-lucky, night time romping or 'afternoon delight' or moments of bliss stolen from the pressures of daily life, as in movie portrayals and the scenes of romantic novels. And so, when I suggest that those who do these surveys are not looking at the root causes, what I mean is that, here in China, as elsewhere, the citizens have 'gotten what they paid for.' They, the people, sought to create a 'utopian' society which removed so-called difference of gender and culture but did not seem to anticipate just what that would mean. The result of these efforts at 'social engineering' are exactly what one would expect: people get married for reasons far removed from love. It is very typical for Chinese couples to get married merely to produce the next generation - very often the father lives or works in one place, the wife in another, and the baby is left with the grand-parents. Such circumstance clearly demonstrate that the marriage and the off-spring are a result of duty and national obligations and not of love or real family goals. And in a society that now, as a result of social policies, has 120 males for every 100 females (the international ratio is 108m-100f)is it any wonder that the parks are fill on weekends with parents out negotiating for suitors to marry-off to their children? Please, now, do not take my comments here as a criticism of China or of Chinese political ideology. I am merely trying to say that the folks who do the surveys are comparing apples and oranges: THEY ARE JUMPING IN AND OUT OF DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF WHAT IS 'normal'. On the one hand, they are surveying people who are now living in the 'normal' conditions created by, and to be expected of, the prevailing and past attempts at Chinese social engineering and yet they, those doing the surveys, are measuring the expectations and lifestyles of those sureyed against more universal/international or, so-called, humane life expectations. Why would Chinese people expect to have 'normal', romantic, sexual appeties considering what it was that brought them to the current conditions in the first place - conditions that sought to remove romance from the equation. Thus, in order to truly understand what has happened here, it is essential that someone take responsiblity for the history and take a good hard look at what it is that logic should have predicted would have occured. We get what we pay for . . . and the conditions prevailing the sex life of most couples here in China do not surprise me at all . . . and, though I certainly feel sympathy for those who suffer from a poor sex life, it is hard for me not to say "well guys, you have only yourself to blame." And it is hard for me to take such surveys seriously, when those gathering the information are not willing to look deeply at the real causes and to hold responsible those who have 'purchased' the lifestyle now typical in China, with little regard for the people, normal Chinese, who have to pay the price. Does that make any sense?

Jan 21, 2013 16:45 Report Abuse

DaqingDevil

I think what donluis is referring to has been covered ad nauseum in the Answers section of this paper. While I wholly agree that stress and insomnia would have a negative effect on your sex life I also think that there are other reasons that were not considered by the survey - maybe due to invasion of personal privacy. Lack of relevant sex education in schools, censorship and a general non-acceptance of sex being a healthy part of everyday life come readily to mind. I might leave it at that too.

Jan 14, 2013 19:07 Report Abuse

donluis

Anyone that has spent any time in China and spoken with the local people(about sex) knows the real reasons why most people in China are unsatisfied with their sex life. It has very little to do with their stress levels. The real problems are not discussed in this article. Again, anyone that has talked to a local about sex will attest to that.

Jan 14, 2013 09:34 Report Abuse

Jeaniacob

donluis, a que te refieres? Me gustaria saber mas sobre ello. If you can elaborate your comment, that would be great. Thanks

Jan 14, 2013 13:16 Report Abuse