According to the 2024 White Paper on Sleep Health for Chinese Residents, the average sleep time for Chinese residents is 6.75 hours, and the overall sleep quality is poor. Faced with difficulty falling asleep, melatonin and sleep patches have become indispensable "sleep partners" for some people. Will long-term use have any side effects? March 21st is World Sleep Day, and a reporter from China News Network interviewed Dr. Wang Yanrong from the Neuropsychology Clinic of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region People's Hospital to provide answers. Wang Yanrong introduced that long-term use of melatonin can lead to endocrine disorders, disrupt the original sleep rhythm, and cause certain drug dependence, which can have an impact on the body. There are two common types of sleep patches on the market. One is medical melatonin sleep patches, which belong to pharmaceutical products and are relatively safe to use; There is also a type of acupoint sleep patch, which has different ingredients and is applied to different acupoints. This type of sleep patch can cause skin allergies and pigmentation when applied to a certain part of the human skin for a long time, and has certain side effects on the body. What is the scope of long-term use? Wang Yanrong stated that neither taking melatonin nor using sleep patches should exceed 1 to 2 weeks. If sleep disorders persist for more than 2 weeks, timely medical attention should be sought. Wang Yanrong introduced that everyone can improve their sleep quality through their own efforts, such as relaxing their body before bedtime, listening to light music, or awakening their sleep motivation through meditation. As long as they find a suitable way to promote sleep, they often achieve twice the result with half the effort. (Lai Xin She)