Your dream holiday – a good night’s sleep

It seems a lot of us are struggling to get a good night’s sleep and we’re resorting to our holidays, and other time away from home and the office, to find it.

Tourism hotels are responding to the sleeplessness pandemic and not just by providing a comfortable bedroom in which to catch those zeds.

Jules Perowne, CEO and founder of luxury hotels consultancy Perowne International, recently spoke to Conde Naste Traveller about this trend: 

“It is no longer enough for a hotel to just offer wellness on the side; they need to embrace it by offering a more holistic approach to wellness, with a specific goal in mind – and the most in-demand goal currently is improved and enhanced sleep.”

One London hotel offers a two-hour sleep treatment, 60 minute-CBD facials or massages, yoga, meditation, and personalised sleep amenities. They also provide “sleep boxes” filled with pillow spray, bath and body oil, and sleep supplements. 

Others offer weighted blankets for bedrooms, pillow menus to suit your sleep position – whether it’s on your back or side – and sleep meditation sessions led by registered hypnotherapists and sleep experts.

Dr Rebecca Robbins, a sleep researcher, told CNN that sleep tourism has risen in popularity due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“People often associate travel with decadent meals, extending their bedtimes, the attractions, and the things you do while you’re travelling, really almost at the cost of sleep,” she said.

“Now, I think there’s just been a huge seismic shift in our collective awareness and prioritisation of wellness and wellbeing.”

Not all of us can afford expensive hotel sleep retreats. The more affordable option is to bring the sleep retreat into your home.

Here are some tips:

• Have a sleep routine including going to bed and getting up at the same times every day, even at weekends.

• Avoid electronic devices for at least an hour before bed and try some guided meditation, listening to soft music, or reading.

• Write a list of your worries into a to-do list for the next day so that they don’t keep you awake through the night.

• Sleep in a dark, cool room with earphones if they help and if not, try ambient sounds such as rainfall, gentle music, or white noise.

• If you can’t get to sleep, get back up and do something relaxing like reading or listening to quiet music. Only go back to bed when you feel sleepier.

• Have a good diet and exercise habits and avoid stimulants 1-2 hours before bed.

If you wake up during the night and can’t get back to sleep easily, then research suggests that’s normal as we age.

In fact, they’ve named it “the two-sleep night”. It’s been a common human phenomenon for centuries, but we’ve lost sight of it in our industrial and work-heavy modern world.

The best thing to do is not struggle to get back to sleep in a hurry but move around, read a book or listen to the radio and allow the second sleep to take over.

However, if you're struggling with insomnia or any other sleep problems, and it’s causing fatigue for the rest of the day, then talk to your GP.