Not sleeping well? In the future, there will be a dedicated person to "manage" the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security's announcement last month, proposing to add a new job of "sleep health management specialist" at 2 am. What are you doing? Someone has fallen into a deep sleep; Some people even count sheep to 1000 without feeling sleepy, staring at the dark night and tossing and turning, unable to sleep; Some people are suddenly awakened by their own snoring... One third of a person's life is spent in sleep, but various sleep disorders are becoming increasingly common. A "2025 China Sleep Health Survey Report" revealed that the average sleep duration of the population aged 18 and above in China is 7.06-7.18 hours, and the sleep distress rate is 48.5%. In order to save sleep, a new profession called "Sleep Health Manager" has emerged, whose main task is to assist people in monitoring and storing sleep data, risk assessment and analysis, non-medical intervention guidance, psychological support and emotional management, as well as long-term sleep health management. According to the announcement released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in May 2025, "Sleep Health Management Specialist" is a new job proposed to be added under the "Health Management Specialist" profession. However, is it really reliable to ask "outsiders" to help with the "private matter" of sleeping? The snoring of obese men is like a roller coaster. After seeking sleep management, there has been improvement. Ms. Zeng is a "working mother" who suffers from insomnia. When she goes to bed at night, she always hears the breathing of her family, the dripping sound of the air conditioning unit, and even her own heartbeat; She also repeatedly changes her sleeping position and anxiously calculates time. Therefore, Ms. Zeng consulted a sleep management specialist and tried a personalized non pharmacological treatment plan under professional guidance. Among them, cognitive behavioral therapy such as improving anxiety and saying goodbye to "brushing phones before bedtime" has become a focus. In addition, due to Ms. Zeng's prolonged indoor work and lack of natural light, she was advised by a sleep management specialist to engage in moderate outdoor activities every morning and use the morning sunlight to regulate her biological clock. Mr. Zhu, who is 38 years old, also suffers from sleep problems. It is reported that Mr. Zhu's snoring is like a roller coaster, which suddenly disappears for more than 10 seconds, and then starts snoring again with the sound of "reverse inhalation". What made him even more tired was that even though he had slept for 7 hours, he still felt a hangover the next day. For this, he sought advice from a sleep management specialist. Originally, Mr. Zhu, who weighs over 180 pounds, had a narrow upper airway due to fat deposition in his neck, which exacerbated snoring and easily caused respiratory pauses. I always thought snoring wasn't a disease, but I didn't expect that severe cases could be 'deadly,' "Mr. Zhu said. Insomnia and apnea are two prominent manifestations of sleep disorders in modern people. ”Yu Jianfeng, Vice Chairman of the Sleep Technology and Technology Branch of the Chinese Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, introduced that if not effectively intervened for a long time, it may lead to a series of health problems, including respiratory pauses and even hypoxia, which can damage the entire body's organ system. Industry insiders: More "sleep health managers" need to be trained. With the increasing demand for sleep health, standardized education for sleep medicine specialists and technical talents is also urgent. But in China, sleep medicine is a young clinical discipline with only a history of over 30 years. In order to cultivate more professional talents, in 2021, the National Health Commission's Capacity Building and Continuing Education Center launched a special training program for sleep technicians, which was established by the Chinese Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics. By 2024, clinical teaching bases will be established in 39 hospitals across the country; In 2023, a company has applied to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security to develop a new job called "Sleep Health Management Specialist", allowing relevant talents from the company and society to work with certificates. Ye Qing is a certified sleep management specialist. Two years ago, she passed the specialized training for sleep technicians and her daily job is to deal with various sleep disorders. When providing sleep health management guidance to consultants, Ye Qing will first identify the "culprits" of sleep disorders in different populations, and then provide specific intervention measures. For example, for emotional insomnia patients, stress desensitization training can be attempted; For workers who do not need to maintain a high level of alertness, temporary sleep deprivation can be used to make bed time as close to actual sleep time as possible; Most insomnia patients use stimulus control methods, only going to bed when feeling sleepy, and strengthening the brain's neural reflex to "bed=sleep". Cai Chang, the General Secretary of the Sleep Industry and Transformation Working Committee of the China Sleep Research Association, believes that sleep health management needs to target a wider population, and this universal demand of the whole society requires departments and industries to cultivate a large number of "sleep health management professionals" for enterprises and society. The increasingly common "new urban disease" will lead to a new blue ocean of sleep patches, sleep aids, aromatherapy, health tea, melatonin... By entering keywords such as "sleep aid" and "insomnia" on e-commerce platforms, various products will appear in search lists. According to data from a business consulting firm, the sleep economy has entered a period of rapid development in recent years, with the market size of China's sleep economy reaching 534.93 billion yuan by 2024. Some analysts believe that the market size of the sleep economy sector will continue to grow, and the market size is expected to reach 658.68 billion yuan by 2027. However, as more and more people are willing to pay for a good night's sleep, there is a shortage of professional sleep health management services. Many "fake sleep therapists" have emerged in some health centers and clinics, and there are even so-called "sleep therapist services" online; Meanwhile, due to a lack of relevant knowledge, some people overly rely on melatonin or sleeping pills, while others attribute the reason to "poor feng shui in their new home" and seek help from metaphysics, resulting in poorer sleep quality. In Cai Chang's view, this illustrates the shortage of sleep management professionals from another perspective, and the future sleep track will be a new blue ocean. (New Society)