I’ve generally slept pretty well. I like my 8 hours, and feel a bit off my game when I get less than 7.5 hours. But in semi-retirement, it’s not really a problem. If I get up in the night, I read for a bit (or – ugh – check the news) and then fall back asleep. If I have a particularly restless night, I know that the following night I’ll sleep right through.
And I’ve always been a napper. When I worked full time, at least one nap-read-nap-read-nap-read weekend afternoon was a must. These days, on crappy, rainy-snowy-darkish days, I get a nap in. I sometimes drift off when watching television. And about 90% of the time, for some reason, I nod off during the first act of a live play.
But mostly, I’ve always been pretty happy with my sleep. In Goldilocks words it’s just right.
Others are not so fortunate, making sleep a big business.
…we’ve turned sleep issues into a $30 billion to $40 billion industry, according to a 2017 McKinsey * Company report.
Yes, sleep is the new gold. Or as McKinsey put it: “There’s little doubt that the sleep-health economy will offer robust investment opportunities for private equity firms and growth opportunities for their consumer-focused portfolio companies over the next several years.” (Source: Boston Globe)
I guess over the years, I’ve contributed to industry growth.
Years ago, my husband and I had a mattress that had seen better days and was giving us both sciatica. So we invested in a Tempur-pedic – pillows, too - which turned out to be a cure-all. The only problem was in cold weather, when that mattress turned into what felt like marble or concrete when you first got into it. After a few minutes, it warmed up, but until then it was a near death experience. Or echt death experience: it was what I imagine is akin to being laid out on a mortuary slab. (I no longer have a Tempur-pedic, but I did like mine. Turns out, the reaction is binary: people don’t tend to be neutral, they either love Tempur-pedic or hate it.)
Occasionally, I’ll buy a new pillow. And I like my sheets to have at least a 600 thread count. (Macy’s house brand, when on sale.) But I’m not doing much investing in sleepy time these days.
Fortunately for Big Sleep, others are and their billions are going toward blackout shades, trackers that monitor their restless nights, white noise machines, pillow sprays,
…meditation gurus intoning mantras on downloaded apps, our bodies slathered with cannabis-derived CBD oils, our 25-pound weighted blankets calming anxiety.
And, as an increasingly sleep-deprived society, we’re paying more attention to what’s being called “sleep hygiene.” Even the workplace is getting in on the act there’s evidence that “a rested employee is a better employee.” Some are encouraging work naps, and are even installing sleep pods.
Celebs are, of course, jumping on the bandwagon – or into the sleeping car.
No surprise that Gwyneth Paltrow is all over the sleep thang – it is, after all on-trend - with her “clean sleeping” regimen that, no surprise, requires a special purchase. In this case a copper pillow case that costs $80. Thanks, Gwyneth!
And our Tom Brady swears by sleep-enhancing PJ’s. Sure, at $145, they probably cost more than the Old Navy PJ’s or throwback Lanz nightgown or old, out-sized tee-shirt that’s your current nightwear. And you can’t argue that our Tom continues to perform at a pretty high level. Still, I’m not taking how-to-live advice from someone who won’t eat nightshades or anything white.
Before you waste big bucks in our Tom’s PJs or Gwyneth’s pillow case, you might want to head on out to the Canyon Ranch and invest in an overnight sleep analysis. It goes for about $3K (and that doesn’t factor in the rack rate of nearly $1K). But it could turn out to be a wise investment if it turns out you don’t need our Tom’s PJs, Gwyneth’s pillow case, or cannabis oils.
Turns out sleep hygiene is no laughing matter:
Sleep expert Jeanne F. Duffy sees two factors converging to create sleep’s moment. “People are getting less sleep than recommended, and at the same time they’re becoming aware that a lack of sleep can make them not just cranky the next day, but also more likely to gain weight and to develop diabetes or Alzheimer’s when they’re older,” said Duffy, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the secretary-treasurer of the Sleep Research Society.
Cranky I get – been there, done that – but weight gain, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s?I’m exhausted just reading about it.
Mental distress also comes from wasting money on sleep aids that don’t work. In an effort to guide the tired and poor, Consumer Reports cautioned readers in 2016 about an industry that was just waiting for its moment: sleep coaching.
Sleep coaching, eh?
Sleep coaches charge up to $150 per hour and analyze diet and bedroom environment, but, as a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine told the publication, “There’s little evidence that people who hire these coaches actually sleep better,”
Well, there’s a ringing testimony.
Anyway, I was gong to say that it’s a good thing that we have another growth industry out there, but I think I’ll just sleep on it. (Yawn…)
No comments:
Post a Comment