Lack of sleep is keeping many awake fretting
Print Edition
Doctor Sun Wei recalls a patient who downed a bottle of sleeping pills four years ago. The anxious family thought it was a suicide bid, but the patient said he just wanted to sleep.
Sun, 37, was one of the first sleep physicians at Peking University Sixth Hospital, which specializes in psychiatric treatments. Sleep medicine emerged in China in the 1980s. Before then, insomnia treatments were regarded as unnecessary.
Now, sleeping disorders are commonly discussed. A survey by the sleep medicine committee of the Chinese Medical Doctors Association shows more than 60 percent of world鈥檚 adult population doesn鈥檛 sleep well.
The survey was conducted to mark the World Sleep Day last Friday.
Young Chinese, in particular, sleep poorly. About 75 percent of those under 30 suffer from sleep disorders due to depression, nervousness and anxiety. Work pressure, obesity and poor eating can also affect sleep quality.
The overuse of smartphones, computers and other electronic devices is regarded as one of the major causes of insomnia. Lu Lin, director of Peking University Mental Health Institute, says screens emit a blue light that stimulates the optic nerve, leading to a substantial reduction of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep.
The survey showed that media professionals, IT programmers and e-commerce practitioners suffer insomnia most. The Chinese Sleep Research Society released a report last year showing that 93.8 percent of Chinese young people spend time online before going to bed.
Ironically, young people are also likely to turn to phones and computers to combat insomnia.
A report last December by AliHealth and AliData showed that almost 79 percent of people searching 鈥渋nsomnia鈥 on Alibaba鈥檚 online shopping platforms were aged 18 to 35. The most popular products were medicines to calm the nerves and head massagers. Figures from Taobao show 23.832 million people were shopping between 11pm and 5am in 2012.
Sun has been writing a 鈥淪leep Diary鈥 on social media, sharing knowledge and therapies, to raise public awareness of insomnia.
鈥淭ransient insomnia does not affect health. But if you have difficulty falling asleep for more than three nights, you could be diagnosed with insomnia,鈥 he wrote.
鈥淵ou need to see a doctor if the problems disrupt your life.鈥
Wang Weidong, a leading sleep specialist, has developed a mobile app offering online diagnosis, medical consultation and traditional Chinese medicine therapies. The app has gained more than 30,000 users since its launch in 2017.
Folk prescriptions are also offered online, such as lavender massage oil, recipes and exercises.
鈥淥ur generation is more prone to insomnia, and we care about sleep much more than our predecessors,鈥 says 鈥淢atch,鈥 founder of the online group 鈥淪leep Bar 鈥 Say Goodbye to Insomnia.鈥 It has more than 20,000 members.
鈥淢atch鈥 began reading foreign books on sleep medicine and sharing them. 鈥淪cientific methods are the key to improving sleep quality,鈥 he says. 鈥淯ltimately, the cure lies with the individual.鈥
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