Insomnia mirrors youth mental health struggles

Rise in sleeplessness reveals underlying anxiety, depression of younger generation, experts say

Cheng Jingyang sets his phone aside at midnight, closes his eyes, and waits to fall asleep. Nothing happens.

The 23-year-old student of Hangzhou Dianzi University who is finishing fieldwork in Beijing for his thesis, recently spent more than 1,000 yuan ($146) on a memory-foam "deep sleep pillow" recommended on social media. He had already cut out caffeine and set a screen curfew. None of it had worked.