Spend thousands of dollars to have a good night's sleep

To treat chronic insomnia, many young people in China spend thousands of dollars on pillow sprays, white noise machines, foot bath powders or aromatherapy oils.

Before going to bed, Li Li, 29, follows a strict routine. She sprayed some "sleep-enhancing water" on her pillow, soothed her eyes with a steam mask, put on an electronic sleep tracker and a pair of earplugs before lying down.

"I can't sleep without these steps. Even if I do fall asleep sometimes, I wake up easily. I've been doing this for two years now," Li said.

Like her, many young Chinese have trouble sleeping. Analysis of data collected from 450 million people shows that more than 36% of the country's population loses sleep regularly - three times a week. 36.7% of them were people born after 1990. Scientists also said that about 67.4% of survey participants bought sleep-improving products, 62% were born after 1990.

Behind the growing demand for such products is the "epidemic" of chronic insomnia. A 2016 study by the China Sleep Research Association indicated that more than 300 million people suffer from sleep disorders.

"Symptoms include difficulty falling asleep for more than half an hour, sleep maintenance disturbances (waking up more than twice a night), early awakening, decreased sleep quality, and total sleep time (sleeping less than 6.5 percent). hours) with daytime dysfunction. The disorder has typical symptoms of fatigue, depression, mental and physical discomfort, cognitive decline," said Liu Hao, general secretary of the medical association. Jiangxi Sleep Economics, said.

According to Kong Xiang, founder of E-Sleep, a company that provides professional solutions to treat sleep disorders, work pressure, bad sleep habits and electronic device use are the culprits that make people sick. insomnia.

Li Li usually stays up until after 12pm. She lay in bed, scrolling through her phone and letting the time pass. "The doctor said I had to go to bed early. But this habit was not easy to break, I started looking for ways to help me sleep better," she said.

A smart bedroom with a device that monitors the user's heart rate and breathing, at the China International Import Fair in Shanghai. Photo: Xinhua

A young girl living in Shijiazhuang, Hebei had a similar situation. Since starting her internship, the quality of her sleep has plummeted, leaving her in a constant state of stress every day. Following a friend's advice, she decided to pay for an online sleep aid service with audio. In the end, her insomnia treatment bill came to 10,000 yuan ($1,500). She shared the story on the Weibo platform and attracted the interest of hundreds of thousands of users.

According to an online report conducted by the Consumer Research Institute, sales of sleep aids for GenZ (people born between 1996 and 2012) have increased by nearly 50% compared to the same period last year. The overall market size of the "sleeping industry" in China increased from 262 billion yuan ($38 billion) in 2016 to 378 billion yuan in 2020.

Trade platform JD's report shows that sales of sleep-enhancing sprays Li Li used increased 33-fold from 2018 to 2023. Sales of foot bath powders and aromatherapy products also increased by more than 50% compared with the same period last year. According to the report, young workers, university students and teachers are loyal customers.

"I've tried steam eye masks, melatonin, and white noise generators for a good night's sleep. I'm willing to pay for any product that's reasonably priced," said Pan Yang, 27. office staff in Beijing, said.

According to Zhang Bin, executive director of the China Sleep Research Association, young people are willing to spend heavily on sleep. This means that people are increasingly attaching importance to sleep and its impact on health.

Kong Xiang said the overall market demand is shifting from sleep tracking to sleep-enhancing products, from low-tech products to more advanced technology.

"As customers' demand for high-quality sleep increases, the sleep economy will become the new growth engine to promote health consumption in China," said Wang Guangliang, chief executive officer of Sleep Products Association, said.