Good sleep starts with good habits

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Sleep is the most basic life process of biological evolution. About 1/3 of a person’s life is spent sleeping.

According to relevant surveys, Chinese residents sleep an average of 6.75 hours, and young people, especially those born in 2000, have become the largest group of people who stay up late. How to sleep well and deeply? Are the various smart sleep aid devices that have become popular recently really effective? The journalist made an interview about this.

Sleep quality needs to be improved

“Lying in bed and not being able to sleep feels like flipping pancakes. It’s a long night and it’s really torturous.”

Yao Yu, a 25-year-old girl from Henan, has had trouble falling asleep on and off for four years. There are many people like her who have trouble sleeping. The “2024 Chinese Residents’ Sleep Health White Paper” released by the Chinese Sleep Research Association shows that the residents surveyed woke up 1.4 times at night on average, and the average sleep duration was 6.75 hours. The “Healthy China Action (2019-2030)” advocates that the average daily sleep duration for adults should reach 7-8 hours.

According to the “China Sleep Research Report 2024”, the sleep index of Chinese residents in 2023 was 62.61 points, the lowest in the past three years. At the same time, the respondents reported worse subjective sleep quality, more serious sleep procrastination, and more use of sleep medications.

Why has sleep quality declined? Wang Junxiu, director of the Social Psychology Research Center of the Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that dependence on the Internet and mobile phones is one of the main reasons.

Relevant data shows that digitalization has affected residents’ sleep to a certain extent: from an occupational perspective, the proportion of professional groups involved in the Internet to varying degrees has an average sleep duration of 8 hours or more per night, less than 50%; from an age perspective , 56% of college students use mobile phones for more than 8 hours a day, and 52% fall asleep after midnight.

“With the popularization of electronic devices such as computers and mobile phones, people are more likely to be exposed to irritating light sources such as blue light before going to bed, which disrupts the biological clock; at the same time, excessive addiction to electronic devices can form mental dependence, which can also cause difficulty in falling asleep or Sleep rhythm problem,” Lu Lin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of Peking University Sixth People’s Hospital, told reporters.

In addition to bad habits such as Internet dependence, emotions and stress are also “blockers” to sleep.

“The first time I had insomnia was when I was under a lot of pressure during the postgraduate entrance examination. It gradually got so bad that I couldn’t stand the sound of the air conditioner running or my roommate turning over at night.” Yao Yu recalled, until he “went ashore” for the postgraduate entrance examination and the pressure was reduced, he had difficulty falling asleep. The situation has been alleviated.

“Clinically, more than half of the patients may have sleep disorders caused by psychological factors.” Tang Kangmin, a physician at the Sleep Medicine Center of Longhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that in addition to genetic and other congenital factors, the causes of insomnia include stress, Psychological anxiety and other acquired factors.

What should I do if I can’t sleep well? More and more people are seeking professional help.

Ms. Wang from Jiangsu Province always suffers from nightmares and wakes up easily after entering menopause. She plans to go to the hospital for treatment in the near future, but she is a little confused at the registration step. “Some say they are in the neurology department, some are in the endocrinology department, some are in the respiratory department. Only a few hospitals have separate sleep departments.”

“Sleep medicine in China started late, and there are still few high-level sleep medicine talents.” Lu Lin suggested that in the future, it is necessary to strengthen the training of sleep medicine professionals, through joint exchanges with psychiatry, neurology, respiratory medicine and other specialties, and in-depth Study the mechanisms of sleep development and develop new intervention strategies to better serve patients.

It is reported that many hospitals and universities across the country have established sleep centers, sleep monitoring rooms, sleep clinics, etc. At the same time, the industry has compiled the “China Comprehensive Prevention and Treatment Guidelines for Insomnia Disorders” and “China Sleep Medicine Center Standardization Construction Guidelines”. “We should let patients who want to solve their sleep problems know that there is a ‘sleep department’ in the hospital, and we will continue to improve the construction level and influence of sleep medicine.” Lu Lin said.

There are business opportunities hidden in “difficulty”

Nowadays, the sleepless night has given birth to the huge blue ocean of “sleep economy”.

Smart mattresses, sleep devices, sleep-aid aromatherapy, sleep-aid music, sleep monitoring APPs… there are all kinds of sleep-aid products. Data shows that in 2023, the turnover of smart electric beds and smart mattresses will increase by 125% and 82% respectively year-on-year; on the music APP “NetEase Cloud”, the sleep-aid light music playlist has a maximum collection of more than 300,000; on the short video platform ” “Bilibili”, a sleep aid product review video has been viewed over one million times.

Under the tumult, more and more companies are joining the “Nuggets” team. According to statistics, from 2016 to 2020, the overall scale of China’s sleep economy has increased from more than 260 billion yuan to more than 370 billion yuan; Tianyancha data shows that there are currently more than 9,000 sleep economy-related companies in China, of which 37.3% are in Established within 1-5 years.

Can products labeled as “sleep aids” really achieve “a good dream”?

“Take melatonin as an example. It can indeed regulate sleep cycles, but it may be more suitable for people who have disrupted melatonin secretion due to staying up late for a long time, or people who suffer from jet lag.” Lu Lin said that the effectiveness of sleep aid products is often due to It varies from person to person. If insomnia is caused by stress or anxiety, taking melatonin will have little effect. At the same time, the main principle of most sleep devices on the market is micro-current stimulation, and the effect is not yet clear. Pregnant women and special groups such as those with pacemakers should not use such products.

“After waking up, I habitually take a look at last night’s sleep data, which has become my ‘morning wake-up ritual’.” Some consumers said that they purchased wearable sleep monitoring devices such as smart bracelets, which allow them to listen to music. , practice meditation, and also collect sleep data such as breathing, heart rate, blood oxygen, etc.

Lu Lin said that wearable sleep monitoring equipment can assist in understanding sleep conditions and provide personalized sleep suggestions. However, compared with medical polysomnography equipment, its technology and algorithms are currently inaccurate and cannot be regarded as ” gold standard”.

“We often see a phenomenon in clinical practice. It’s not that wearing a bracelet makes you sleep better, but that you obviously slept well. But when you look at the data the next day, you’ll find that the proportion of deep sleep time is only 3%. Gradually, I became extremely anxious and could not sleep well. ” Han Fang, director of Peking University Sleep Research Center, believes that there is no need to rely too much on the indicators and parameters of sleep aid products. As long as you can “resurrect with full blood” the next morning, you have a good sleep. .

The reporter browsed the e-commerce platform and found that many merchants had slogans such as “fall asleep in one second” and “challenge to fall asleep in 30 minutes” in response to the efficacy of sleep aid products. Industry insiders remind that “Prozac” does not exist. The more comprehensive the propaganda effect, the greater the possibility of “IQ tax”.

The “Insight Report on Market Development and Consumption Trends of Sleep Aid Products” released by Eps Consulting pointed out that the current development of China’s sleep economy industry is relatively fragmented, and various types of companies such as home furnishing, food, technology, and the Internet are involved. While ensuring high-quality and efficient products, merchants should also refuse to exaggerate publicity and inflate prices to avoid causing a crisis of consumer trust.

According to estimates, by 2030, the overall market size of China’s sleep economy is expected to exceed one trillion yuan. Huang Zhili, chairman of the China Sleep Research Association, said that technological innovation will be an important direction for the future development of the sleep industry. “With the advancement of science and technology, sleep products are changing rapidly. How to use new technologies such as AI to improve sleep through principles of sound, light, electricity, magnetism, vibration, and temperature control are worth looking forward to.”

Have a correct understanding of sleep

Developing good habits may be the beginning of good dreams. Yuan Yue, an office worker who stayed up late for a long time scrolling through his mobile phone, finally made up his mind to change.

“Whenever the phone emits a faint blue light, there are always two villains, black and white, pulling back and forth in my heart. Over time, staying up late and scrolling through my phone no longer brings me a contented sleep, but an indulgent guilt.” Yuan Yue said, because If you stay up late, you will start to be late, take naps, and be distracted. Playing with your mobile phone before going to bed may seem like a form of “time autonomy,” but it actually comes at the expense of diverting time from the normal order of the day.

Being too busy during the day and reluctant to sleep at night is the reason why many young people stay up late “with revenge”. Experts believe that in addition to “quitting Internet addiction” on their own, reducing workers’ daytime stress and ensuring adequate rest time may fundamentally prevent vindictive media use before going to bed.

The “China Sleep Research Report 2024” pointed out that Internet digital workers’ office locations, times, and methods are relatively flexible, the boundaries between work and life are not clear, and sleep conditions are more likely to be affected by work. Lu Guoquan, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and director of the General Office of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, suggested that the concept of “offline rest rights” should be introduced to give workers the right to refuse to contact and handle work through digital tools outside of working hours to ensure adequate rest.

If you want to sleep well, you must not only take “correct actions”, but also have a “correct understanding” of sleep.

“Imagine insomnia is like a pillar, and the anxiety and worry caused by insomnia are like a rope, it is around your neck, and what you are doing is spinning around the pillar of insomnia.” In On the social media Douban, a netizen who has suffered from insomnia for a long time shared that his fear of insomnia is sometimes more terrifying than insomnia itself.

“As sleep doctors, we tend not to emphasize or exaggerate the harm of insomnia. This will lead patients into a misunderstanding and make them constantly pay attention to insomnia, which will worsen the degree of insomnia.” Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital Neurology Wang Yang, chief physician of the Department of Internal Medicine, said that incorrect sleep cognition may cause acute insomnia to escalate into long-term insomnia. Therefore, we should get rid of myths about the causes of insomnia, excessive rumination, and excessive sleep expectations.

“In the past, many people avoided sleep problems. Fortunately, with the popularity of psychological consultation rooms in schools and communities and the establishment of sleep clinics in hospitals, more and more people are beginning to realize the importance of sleep.” Lu Lin It is recommended that patients with severe sleep problems should seek medical treatment promptly and develop good living and sleeping habits in daily life, including relaxing before bed, eating a scientific and reasonable diet, and exercising moderately.

“I now start running, basking in the sun, and doing some calming meditation training.” Yao Yu said that after regaining control of the order of his life, he sleeps easier. At the end of the interview, she showed the reporter her mobile phone wallpaper, which said: “Don’t be swayed by the night, be the aurora in the night.”

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