App urges users to turn off phones and sleep

A mobile phone application that urges users to stop burning the midnight oil has become popular as more people put off sleeping while using digital products.

The application, named "I want to sleep early", will set off an alarm every five minutes if the user does not click "sleep" at the time he or she has set. Once the "sleep" command is clicked, the mobile phone will be locked for two hours.

"The intention of the application, which makes use of the pressure from social circles to supervise the users, is to encourage young workers and students to return to the healthy habit of going to bed early," said Yang Yuan, the 23-year-old independent developer of the application, who works in information technology in Beijing.