Anyone who has been to Thailand will have noticed tired Thais sleeping anywhere they can.
Local Thai people are often seen napping on the roadside, on their mopeds – and even on the top of trucks. When it comes to catching 40 winks, no place is off limits.
The reason why may finally have emerged – they sleep the least of all countries in South East Asia.
Yes, Thais stay up late and wake up early. Plus, they spend the most time online – usually on social media on their smartphone.
The findings come from insurance firm AIA, which surveyed 10,000 adults in 15 countries in the Asia Pacific region.
Thais sleep for just 6.3 hours a day
Thais said they slept just 6.3 hours a day but they longed for more rest of up to 7.7 hours. People in Malaysia and South Korea also slept for 6.3 hours. But Thais spent five hours a day online for non-work related activities.
We’ve put together this hilarious set of pictures of Thais sleeping anywhere they can find. The funniest has to be the guy who has pulled two metal trolleys together to form a make-shift bed.
On for danger factor (and remember Thai people have very little sense of healthy and safety) is the man laying across the driving seat of a huge steam roller.
I also like the three sleeping beauties taking a nap outside their massage shop while no customers are around. Let’s hope the boss doesn’t catch them.
Anyone who’s also been to Thailand will almost certainly have seen security guards sleeping on the job.
But the picture of a soldier getting some shut-eye with his rifle in his lap pointed to the sky is a new one to me. Or the dozens of police officers laying on the floor.
There is, of course, a more serious side to Thai people’s severe tiredness. Four American tourists were injured in Bangkok earlier this year when their taxi driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed.
And there’s no doubt that sleep-deprivation plays a role in the poor road-safety record in Thailand.
So if the survey from AIA showing that Thai people get the least sleep in Asia Pacific – and the pictures here of Thais sleeping – show anything, it’s that they should get more sleep!
