THE biggest night-owls in the world are the Portuguese, with 75 per cent not "hitting the sack" until after midnight. Following closely are the Taiwanese (69 per cent), Koreans (68 per cent) and Hong Kongers (66 per cent).

The ACNielsen online survey was conducted in October 2004 on the Internet in 28 countries and regions across Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States, interviewing more than

14,100 respondents over the Internet.

According to the global survey, an average of 37 per cent of respondents around the world aren't usually tucked up in bed until after midnight, with 40 per cent of people in Asia Pacific burning the midnight oil.

Globally, 60 per cent of Asia Pacific and US respondents are out of bed by 7 am, compared to half of Europeans. Leading the rankings globally are the Indonesians, with 91 per cent out of bed by 7 am, followed by 88 per cent of Vietnamese. In the global rankings, five of the top 10 early rising nations were from Asia, the other five from Europe.

Taiwanese are the last out of bed in the morning, with 26 per cent not rising until after 9 am. Similarly, 13 per cent of Hong Kongers aren't out of bed until after 9 am either.

Globally, both work hours and habit were considered by nearly half of the respondents as major factors dictating their sleep schedule. Fifty-four per cent of Europeans claimed "work hours" were more important than "habit" (41 per cent) in determining their sleep schedule, particularly so among younger respondents. Both Americans and Asians rated habit as the biggest driver of sleep hours while work hours influenced the sleep schedule of those aged 20 to 40 in Asia Pacific.

(Star News)