Public Service Announcement – Doctors Say Chinese Method of Hanging Yourself From Trees By Chin and Swinging Back and Forth is NOT a Safe Cure For Insomnia

NY Post – Footage shared on social media shows older adults looping U‑shaped belts attached to playground bars or trees around their chins and gently swaying back and forth like lemurs, seemingly without a care in the world. 

While it’s certainly not a sight you wanna stumble across in the middle of the night, locals swear by this bizarre practice as a cure for sleep-related issues and spinal discomfort. 

The brains behind this operation is Sun Rongchun, 57, who developed the device to treat his cervical spondylosis — a common, age-related condition that can cause headaches, dizziness and insomnia, the Economic Times reported.

Rongchun has trademarked the device and applied to have it patented — until then, he comes to the park every day to educate the public.

I know that looks super tempting. I know when you first watch the video of random Chinese adults at a park in Shenyang hanging by their chins, swinging pendulum style with the full weight of their bodies supported by their head/neck, you think, "Wow. That looks really smart. I'm going to try that tonight."

Not only does it look like a fantastic way to assure a relaxing night of sleep, but it could also be a foolproof excuse for cheating on your wife. Just buy yourself a pole hanging chin diaper. You should be able to find something that will work at your local BDSM sex shop. Then spend a couple nights dangling from a tree branch in a public park to establish plausible deniability. From there, any time you don't come home at night, or your wife wakes up at 4 o'clock in the morning to find nobody in the bed next to her, she'll simply assume you're Chinese neck swinging. And on the off-chance she doesn't buy that this method is really curing your insomnia, just show her the reviews. The proof is in the NY Post. 

“In the past, my cervical spine was in bad shape, so I was uncomfortable lying down every night, but after a few days, it worked pretty well,” one fan told local media.

“Now, my throat condition is better and the uncomfortable symptoms are completely gone. I’ve been doing this exercise for two years already.”

Unfortunately, now that this tried and true insomnia cure has made it across the desk of doctors, it's come to everyone's attention that this hot new Chinese trend is shockingly NOT SAFE for your spine or neck. 

“People are desperate for better sleep, but no trend is worth risking paralysis or stroke,” said certified sleep science coach Rosie Osmun of Amerisleep.com.

“Hanging any part of your body, let alone your neck, is biomechanically dangerous. There are safe, research-backed alternatives that actually work.”

Done wrong, this trend can result in nerve damage, spinal injury or even death from restricted blood flow to the brain. There’s already been at least one reported incident in which a man died after mistakenly looping the belt around his neck instead of his chin.

VCG. Getty Images.

To be fair, I'm not convinced the man who died doing this was really doing "this". When I read that someone, "mistakenly looped the belt around his neck", I can't help but wonder if he set out to find a more "permanent" solution to his sleep issues. But regardless, this modern Chinese secret clearly comes with a risk. If you have to do it a few times in front of your wife so she's not suspicious when you spend the occasional night at your hot new intern's apartment, then so be it. But it is NOT safe to make Chinese head swinging a full-time habit. 

For anybody out there struggling with insomnia, I've put together a list of much safer things you can try to help get yourself a full night's sleep.

• Exercise during the day
• Screens off an hour before bed (perhaps read a book)
• Sleep mask to block out light
• White noise machine
• Sleep stories
• Chamomile tea before bed
• Melatonin 
• Ambien
• Xanax
• An entire handle of whisky
• Heroin

I recommend starting at the top of the list and working your way down, but any of those methods should be safer on your spine and neck. Sleep easy, everyone.