About 50 t0 60 million Chinese are troubled by sleep disorders, and less than 2% receive treatment, said two reports on Chinese people’s sleep quality issued on Mar. 17, just four days ahead of this year's World Sleep Day.

People enter a deep state of relaxation to release stress while under the guidance of professional hypnotists in Taiyuan, North China's Shanxi province, March 21, 2018. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

The report said that 56% of Chinese internet users think they have sleep issues, such as few dreams and light sleep.

According to Han Fang, chairman of the Chinese Sleep Research Society, there are only 5.8 beds available for every one million Chinese with sleep disorders in China’s more than 2,000 sleep clinics.

“China lacks sleep specialists, while the US has thousands of Registered Sleep Technologists,” Han noted.

People born in the 1990s accounted for over 60% of the group troubled by sleep issues, making the largest contribution to online consumption of sleep aids. Blindfolds, earplugs and foot pads were the top 3 most popular sleep aid products in 2017 in China.

Sleep disorders may cause dementia which could further trigger the Alzheimer's disease, said Ye Jingying, director of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association Sleep Medicine Specialized Committee. Sufficient sleep will protect the brain and reduce the risks of developing the Alzheimer's disease, she added.

Young people in Beijing sleep the shortest time, which is less than 7 hours per day, due to high work pressure. Furthermore, employees in finance and service industries, as well as government officials have the worst sleep quality, according to the reports.

Nearly 90% of Chinese internet users stare at their smart phones before sleep, spending an average of 65 minutes doing so. 58% of the people born after 1995 may even spend 80 minutes.

Experts said that the blue rays emitted by devices such as cell phones and computers will increase people’s level of alertness and excitability. Using cell phones before bed will reduce the time of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep which is a key process of mental recovery.

They suggested that people maintain a healthy routine and never stay up to guarantee enough sleep time.

By Sun Wenyu