Stressed by waiting for your computer to update information or download photos, music or videos? You could be suffering from Hourglass Syndrome.

A survey commissioned by Intel shows that 66 per cent of computer users are at least somewhat stressed by slow-poke technology and 23 per cent described themselves as very or extremely stressed.

"We found that 41 per cent of adults said they are waiting for the computer to catch up with them and they are stressing out while waiting," said Agnes Kwan, of Intel which develops processor technology, said referring to survey results.

Ms Kwan added that so-called Hourglass Syndrome is a collective term for the frustration that stressed computer users are facing as they watch the little hourglass spin while waiting for the program to open or a website to load. "In an extreme case, four per cent of users said they had to wait one to three hours for the computer to catch up with them. During that wait it would create stress for them if they have limited time to do the task," she added.