sleep Archives - The Carlton Hotel Ilfracombe

Is Sleep Tourism the Next Big Travel Trend for 2024?

Sleep tourism is being hailed as one of the biggest travel trends of 2024. (Photo credit: Becky Craven)

Sleep tourism has been growing in popularity in 2023 and is set to be one of the biggest travel trends of 2024. But what exactly is sleep tourism and why is it becoming so popular?

Why is Sleep Tourism a Growing Trend?

The global pandemic made us all acutely aware of just how important sleep is for our mental and physical health and wellbeing. Many of us found ourselves unable to sleep well due to the worry and anxiety that the pandemic brought with it and noticed the impact that this has had on our health.

The pandemic might be over now, but various other political and economic crises rage on which is leaving many of us living in a state of constant stress as we operate in survival mode. It’s no wonder that we are struggling to get a good night’s sleep.

But sleep is an essential pillar of a healthy lifestyle and lack of good sleep can contribute to countless health issues from anxiety and depression to mood swings, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, stroke and heart conditions.

Without good sleep we are unable to maintain a healthy body weight, regulate our emotions, maintain a healthy immune system, or concentrate and focus. Poor quality sleep actually affects all areas of our lives.

Why do we need a Sleep Retreat?

According, to figures from The Sleep Charity, 40% of UK adults are having trouble sleeping at a given point in time. The frenetic pace of life, abundance of things to worry about and fears over the future place a massive amount of stress upon us. It therefore makes sense that we are looking for solutions that will help us to sleep better.

For many people, booking a sleep retreat is becoming an increasingly attractive option. Taking yourself off and staying in a hotel where you can focus purely on rest and relaxation is a luxury that travellers are increasingly seeking as a way to escape the hustle and grind of everyday life.

A woman in her 40s sleeps in a hotel bed on a sleep retreat

Image credit: Becky Craven

Why Choose a Hotel for a Sleep Retreat?

A large part of what makes a hotel attractive is the sleep experience. We provide high-quality beds, comfortable mattresses and luxurious bedding which creates the optimum environment for a good night’s sleep.

Hotels typically create a sleep environment where temperature, lighting and comfort are controlled to aid a restful night’s sleep and to ensure that guests wake up feeling refreshed and energised.

In addition, when you’re staying in a hotel you are away from your normal surroundings so you can step away from the responsibilities that you may have at home. There is no need to worry about cooking meals, doing laundry, or tidying the house. The weight of daily chores is removed from your shoulders and you are able to truly disconnect from your everyday life.

Hotels are also often associated with holidays and all the happy memories that may have been created when you were away. This positive association can put you in the right frame of mind for a sleep retreat.

The rooms are also designed with sleep in mind. You have everything you may need and nothing more. There is no clutter to distract you and the minimalism of the environment provides a restful break for our brains and our senses.

There is also nobody to bother you on a sleep retreat. Simply hide out in your hotel room, hang the do not disturb sign on the door and indulge in some much-needed rest and relaxation. If necessary, you can even order your meals to be delivered to your room so that you can eat in peace too.

If the mood takes you, and you have the energy for it, you can head outside for some fresh sea air and a leisurely walk in nature or use the hotel’s spa facilities for a little extra relaxation and rejuvenation.

If a sleep retreat sounds like something you’d like to indulge in, we would be more than happy to oblige you. Simply contact us to discuss your needs or head straight to our booking page.

Dreamland Discovery: Expert Tips for the Best Night’s Sleep

If you’ve had the best night’s sleep in a hotel, maybe these expert tips will help you to recreate it at home. (Photo credit: Becky Craven)

Here at The Carlton, we know a thing or two about good sleep. We’ve been helping our guests to nod off soundly for years now and we understand just how important it is for our guests to sleep well so they can enjoy their stay and have enough energy for all those adventures they want to go on here on the North Devon coast.

But getting a good night’s sleep is about more than just recharging our energy. Medical professionals and wellbeing experts all agree that good sleep is the foundation for a healthy lifestyle and helps us to maintain healthy body weight, improve our mental health, regulate our emotions better, build a stronger immune system, improve our ability to pay attention and concentrate, reduce our stress levels and keep our hearts healthy.

When we suffer from a lack of sleep this can cause or contribute to all sorts of chronic health conditions such as anxiety and depression, mood swings, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, stroke and heart conditions.

Brits are Struggling to Sleep Well

And yet, recent figures from The Sleep Charity show that 40% of adults in the UK are having trouble sleeping. That’s a huge amount of people struggling to recharge and rejuvenate. We decided to share what we know about restful slumber, and we’ve also called on the local community of experts here in Devon to impart some of their knowledge too. Hopefully, if you are one of the 40% struggling with sleep issues, you can find some tips and advice here that might help you nod off more easily at night.

Prepare Your Bedroom for Sleep

$two women from the house keeping staff at The Carlton Hotel in lfracombe make the bed in one of the rooms$

Our housekeeping team to their very best to make sure the sleep environment in our rooms is the best it can be. (Image credit: Becky Craven)

Our personal top tip would be to make sure your bedroom is designed for sleep. First of all, remove all unnecessary clutter. Your bedroom should be for sleeping and sex and that’s it. You shouldn’t be working, exercising, or doing hobbies in your bedroom unless that hobby is reading or relaxing.

Remove technology from the bedroom too. There should be no computers or TVs in the bedroom and try to keep your phone out of your bedroom too. Late-night doom scrolling is definitely not going to help you get a good night’s sleep.

Investing in a good quality bed and mattress is key. We spend hours every single night in bed and over a lifetime this equates to a third of our lives. So, we really should be investing as much as we can in a good quality bed and mattress. They last roughly seven years, so it really is a good investment.

Also, buy some blackout curtains. In our modern society, we are losing touch with our circadian rhythm, the natural process of our body clock that tells us when to sleep and when to wake. Technology and artificial light play a huge role in disrupting this process. Black-out curtains are a particularly useful way to signal to our bodies that it’s dark and therefore time to wind down, release melatonin and prepare for sleep.

It’s also a good idea to think about the temperature in your bedroom. Make sure it’s not too warm as this will not aid a restful night’s sleep. Aim for around 18 degrees Celsius as the optimum temperature.

Choose Appropriate Sleepwear

Organic cotton pyjamas from Sister Organics are a great choice of nightwear when it comes to temperature regulation (Photo credit: Becky Craven)

Natalie Estlick is the founder of Sister Organics and she handmakes beautiful pyjamas in Dartmouth in South Devon. She recommends choosing pyjamas made from organic cotton as the natural fibres help to regulate temperature and keep us cool and comfortable during the night.

“Cotton absorbs moisture and releases it efficiently so your body remains at a balanced temperature throughout the night. Organic cotton is usually softer than conventional cotton too, so it is a dreamy combination,” she says.

Clear your Mind

Veronique Mertes is a Solution-Focused Hypnotherapist and one of her specialities is helping people to overcome their sleep problems and restore good sleep patterns. She says that the stresses and pressures of our everyday lives are often the cause of sleepless nights.

“Our workloads, family duties, financial situations, relationships, social connections and lack of free time are overwhelming us. Our batteries are no longer being recharged,” she says. “Interrupted sleep can be one of the immediate consequences of this constant overload. To repair our system and allow sleep to do its job, we need to downsize. The aim is to alleviate the load your mind is carrying.”

Start a Journalling Practice

(Photo credit: Becky Craven)

Matt Young is known as The Journalling Guy and he believes that journaling can have a positive effect on our mental health and physical wellbeing and can be a really good tool to help us prepare better for sleep.

“To help your mind release the day’s stresses and get ready for a good night’s sleep, you should write in a journal just before going to bed,” he says. “Worrying about stresses in your head causes it to become cluttered with bad thoughts and anxiety. Writing in a journal before going to bed will help you relax and leave your mind feeling at ease. This can assist your mind in shutting down quickly and falling into REM sleep,” he explains.

Create a Bedtime Ritual

A face massage with natural face oil from Moksa can be a great way to relax before bed. (Photo Credit: Becky Craven)

We can’t expect to stop our daily activities jump into bed and fall asleep straight away. We need to put aside time to wind down and prepare for bedtime. Chloe Osborn is the founder of Moksa and makes natural skin care products and candles designed for self-care and me time.

She says “Having a regular bedtime routine or ritual makes for a restful night’s sleep which can massively help with low mood, anxiety and depression. A gentle face massage with a natural face oil that contains essential oils is a beautiful way to relax and treat yourself. Then use a natural pillow spray containing lavender to spritz your space right before your head hits the pillow to finish.”

We hope these sleep tips will allow you to create a better bedtime ritual that helps you discover dreamland and leads to restful and restorative sleep. If you need to get away to focus on sleep, The Carlton is always ready to welcome you for a sleep retreat. Simply head over to our bookings page to check availability and book your sleep break now.