Can’t sleep? Learn to do it better with a ‘sleep retreat’ in a luxury hotel – no sleeping pills needed

Most people want more sleep than they are getting, and many wish for better sleep quality. ‘Sleep retreats’ led by health and wellness experts have mushroomed

They use medical tests, yoga, nutrition and, at the Vale de Moses retreat in Portugal, a ‘soulpad’ – a tent to you and me – to help clients improve their sleep

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Next year’s big wellness trend may well be “sleep retreats”, like that at Revivo Wellness Resort in Bali in Indonesia, to help people sleep better. Photo: Revivo Wellness Resort Nusa Dua Bali

Published: 5:00am, 28 Dec 2019Updated: 5:55pm, 29 Dec 2019

January is traditionally a time for waging war on ourselves by banning alcohol, counting calories, and drawing up ambitious workout plans for the coming year. But what if we took a softer approach to 2020, by sleeping through more of it instead?

Sleep deprivation is fast becoming a major global health issue, and Asia is by no means immune to the epidemic.

A recent survey found that 69 per cent of people in Hong Kong, mainland China, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia aren’t happy with how much sleep they get, while 30 per cent are dissatisfied with their quality of sleep. According to Professor Dorothy Bruck, chair of Australia’s Sleep Health Foundation, around four in 10 people experience inadequate sleep regularly. The negative consequences are well documented.

However, while the world yawns its way through the working week, a soporific wellness trend has been gaining traction. This year, luxury hotels around the globe will host “sleep retreats” designed to help their guests sleep better. It’s a tempting concept. But do they work?

Fiona Lamb is a clinical hypnotherapist specialising in insomnia. Photo: Joseph Sinclair

Fiona Lamb, a clinical hypnotherapist specialising in insomnia, believes so. She will be on hand at Lucknam Park Hotel’s new, two-night Sleep Retreat in the southwest of England in January, to teach people techniques for better sleep, and use guided meditation and hypnotherapy to address the anxiety and stress that she says is often the cause of insomnia.

“If you can’t sleep, there’ll be an explanation,” says Lamb. “Naturally, we know how to sleep, but the most common cause of insomnia is stress.