In a quiet studio in Beijing on her lunch break, Xuan Yi finally got what she wanted after months, a good night’s sleep.
`My job is very stressful. I can’t go to bed before 2-3am and have to get up at 7am to go to work,` Xuan said.
Chinese people spend money to buy a good night’s sleep
Sound insomnia therapy session in a studio in Beijing on December 8, 2023.
As the curtains closed and the bell rang in sound sleep therapist Li Yan’s studio, Xuan finally fell asleep.
50 minutes later, they woke up to their best sleep in years at a cost of 180 yuan ($25).
`More than a dozen people with stressed minds lay down together, wanting to let their brains rest for a moment,` Li said.
Li said `pressure`, `anxiety`, `insomnia`, are the words customers say most often.
Xuan Yi falls asleep in Li’s studio.
Many customers work in China’s competitive information technology industry, which has the highest rates of depression and stress, according to the National White Paper on Health.
Large companies like Alibaba, which require employees to work long hours, also use Li’s therapy sessions as team-building activities.
The musical instruments Li uses are tied to the emerging trend of `brief moments of escape,` in which young people choose to escape from their busy daily lives for a few minutes of complete relaxation.
Li Yan among musical instruments used for therapy.
Surrounding Li’s studio are office buildings in central Beijing.
`Many emotions and problems surface, one must learn to face internally,` Li said.
In a country where many people turn to video games and shopping to unwind, `loosening up, relaxing and feeling joy seem like luxuries,` Li said.
For Xuan, she is happy to sleep well because `if she didn’t spend money on treatment sessions like this, it would probably cost more money to go to the hospital.`