“ As we ’ re slowly coming out of the Covid pandemic , we ’ re now in a mental health crisis . This leads to a sleep deprivation problem that will continue on .”
Pulse : What kinds of trends are we seeing around sleep that may be driving spa guests ’ interest in services and products designed to improve it ? WHITNEY ROBAN : Interest started picking up before the pandemic , but the pandemic has really made it front and center . [ The cause ] is unfortunate , but it ’ s good news for the sleep world because it was never really getting the attention it needed . During the pandemic , sleep problems just skyrocketed . Almost 60 percent of the population — this is globally — said that they were experiencing what was deemed “ Covidsomnia ,” having sleep disturbances during the pandemic . That increase doubled pre-pandemic levels , and the population that was affected most were the millennials . That ’ s because they have families ; they ’ re of childbearing age , and children ’ s sleep problems doubled during the pandemic as well .
What we ’ re also seeing now — we ’ re not locked down at the height of the pandemic , but it ’ s by no means over — is what they ’ re calling “ long insomnia .” Up to 40 percent of people experiencing long Covid are also reporting issues with sleep . Scientists don ’ t really understand why sleep is , from a medical perspective , part of long Covid , but the main reason so many people had sleep problems during the pandemic and continue to now is that the number one cause of behavioral sleep problems is stress and anxiety . Well , 68 percent of the population reported experiencing heightened anxiety during the pandemic .
Secondly , there ’ s a very big focus now on mental health , and you can ’ t talk about mental health without talking about sleep . As we ’ re slowly coming out of the Covid pandemic , we ’ re now in a mental health crisis . This leads to a sleep deprivation problem that will continue on .
P : What kind of role might new technologies play in spas improving their sleep-related offerings ? R : The sleep world is a $ 100 billion business now . It ’ s no surprise that tech is going to come into play and tech companies are going to want to get involved in it . I think there ’ s some great new technology out . I just recommended to a client yesterday the new earbuds you can sleep in — they are noise cancelling — if you have a significant other who ’ s snoring next to you , or you have to go to sleep early or you live in an urban area that ’ s very loud . There are new smart mattresses that can change your temperature to keep you
Sleep Solutions in Resort / Hotel Spas
Because resort and hotel spa guests very often spend time actually sleeping on property , they have additional opportunities to influence guests ’ understanding of sleep and provide them with access to tools that are conducive to good sleep , which is just one more way of integrating wellness into more aspects of their stays . “ Outside of sleep education and support and all the expensive technology in the rooms , there are other ways to bring healthy sleep to a room that are less expensive ,” says Whitney Roban . “ Give them a personalized sleep kit with products people can try before bed . It can also entail sleep tips from experts , so there are tech-related ways to do it , and then there are smaller things they can do that are going to be an extension of the spa into the room as well .”
A small , thoughtfully curated sleep kit can be a good way for spas to serve guests ' sleep needs .
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