Daydream believers lift 'lunch-break economy'

Sleep therapy

In Shenzhen, Guangdong province, sleep therapy centers have become increasingly popular among working professionals, as more people are willing to pay for sleep services.

According to the 2025 China sleep health research white paper released by the China Sleep Research Society, more than 300 million people in China suffer from sleep disorders, with about 150 million of them requiring active intervention.

"I've been under too much pressure lately and can't sleep well. When you enter this environment and let your mindset settle down, you stop thinking about other things, and you just drift into sleep," a consumer surnamed Tian told local media.

"Between money and health, I think health is more important. You can always earn money, but if you lose your health, there's no way to earn it back."

The head of the sleep therapy center said foot traffic has been rising steadily over the past two years, with revenue growing by about 20 percent last year.

In addition to individual consumers, a number of enterprise trade unions have proactively reached out to book customized on-site sleep services for their employees, in an effort to alleviate chronic sleep deprivation in the workplace, she said.

The 2026 white paper released on March 21 shows that although sleep problems still affect nearly half of all adults, a positive shift is underway: a growing number of people are moving from passively enduring poor sleep to actively managing their sleep health.

Gao Wen, an associate professor of psychology at Liaoning Normal University in Dalian, said the lunch-break economy has a very clear geographical adaptability, tending to concentrate in business districts and industrial parks in first-tier and new first-tier cities.

"Consumers are mostly white-collar workers who have long commutes, high work intensity, and relatively high disposable income. They are quite willing to pay for their personal physical and mental health, as well as for improved work efficiency," she said.

In addition, she noted, some people accumulate negative emotions at work and need appropriate regulation to restore emotional stability and enhance their reclaiming control of their life.

Gao lives near the Dalian Software Park, where most commercial facilities cater to white-collar workers and university students in the area. Restaurants, gyms, beauty salons, barbershops, bathhouses, and massage shops are all readily available.

She has noticed that during the lunch break, some merchants set up stalls in the park selling fruit, pastries, fresh flowers, jewelry, and other items — and they are very popular.

"Whether university students or young people just entering the workforce, they are more willing to pay for emotional value and for things that enhance their sense of well-being," she said.

Issues to chew over

Five years ago, if a businessman said they were targeting the lunch break, people might have assumed they meant fast-food delivery. Now they mean massage chairs, meditation pods, and 45-minute HIIT classes. The lunch hour has become personal prime time.

But beneath the surface of consumer choice and market innovation lie deeper structural questions about equity, safety, employer responsibility and other issues.

For blue-collar workers — such as factory employees, logistics drivers, retail staff, and restaurant servers — the lunch break is often shorter, less protected, and frequently unpaid.

Many do not have the option to leave their workplace during the midday window. Even if they do, spending 50 yuan on a nap pod or 100 yuan on a massage would represent a significant portion of a day's wages.

"It is kind of a luxury good, accessible only to those who can afford to treat rest as a consumable," said Gao.

More concerning than the business model are the regulatory gaps. Who is liable if a customer falls ill or is injured inside a pod? What standards govern the hygiene of shared bedding? These questions have not been answered.

Moreover, corporate attitudes toward the midday hour remain deeply ambivalent.

On one end of the spectrum are companies that actively support employees' lunch-break activities. Some tech firms have installed nap rooms, subsidized gym memberships, and even offered on-site massage services.

"Once I went to apply for a job at a company in Shenzhen. It was 1:30 pm and the place was pitch-dark with no one around. I thought maybe the company had gone bankrupt. But later I learned that there is a midday-break culture in Shenzhen!" said one netizen.

On the other end are companies that view any departure from the desk during lunchtime as a dereliction of duty. In some workplaces, employees who leave the office for more than 45 minutes face questions from supervisors.

"I hope that everyone can enjoy their lunch break. One hour isn't enough to reach a distant place, but it's enough to let your soul escape from the routine," said another netizen.