It seems as though we have a collective one-track mind these days—centered around a one-syllable word beginning with the letter S—sleep. Not “a little R&R.” Simple sleep is all the rage, evident in the enormous amount of media coverage sleep and its trending cousin, sleep tourism, is getting. Seriously. People are traveling great distances to see the back of their eyelids, and I can personally attest to how popular this is. Three major news outlets starting with Good Morning America have recently interviewed me on the topic. And it makes sense: If you have everything and you can’t sleep, you don’t have much.
Sleep Tourism & Timeless Truths
Sleep tourism, the Global Wellness Institute reported in 2023, started popping up as a trend in late 2022. A trend that HTF Market Intelligence reports is estimated to grow by almost 8 percent and by over $400 billion between 2023 and 2028. And while we’re on the topic, the new ISPA Consumer Study reports that 55 percent of spa-goers go to spas to learn sleep routines and healthy sleep habits. (That same study also reports that, unsurprisingly, 60 percent of spa-goers seek out spas to relieve tension.)
But sleep tourism is also like forest bathing, which was widespread long before it got the new name. Before there was sleep tourism and a plethora of leading hotels and resorts battling for the best rest, there were a number of spas offering sleep-inducing services and programs. It’s a happy reminder that Sleep has long been a Timeless Truth. Spas have always been about rest.
Back to the Future
In 1999, Starwood Hotels & Resorts debuted its iconic Heavenly Bed at Westin Hotels & Resorts. Travelers were so happy to get away from the polyester-earthtone lodging industry beds of that era that the fluffy white bed itself became the celebrity—and did a little traveling on its own. It was a guest on The Today Show, featured in The New York Times, and even made special red-carpet appearances at landmark destinations, including New York’s Grand Central Station. Five years later, in 2004, Westin had sold close to 4,000 beds and 30,000 sheets and pillows.
By 2005, sleep treatments at spas slowly started to gain traction with services such as enhanced massages that used essential oils to induce good sleep and deep rest. In 2007, Nicolas Ronco launched Yelo, a unique urban day spa with a focus on sleep. The Manhattan-based spa offered 20-minute ($12) and 40-minute ($24) naps in a Yelo Cab. Ronco’s patented Yelo Cab spa cabin initially came equipped with a reclining Yelo Chair and a patented sleep therapy system. The Cab’s curved walls made it extra-comfortable. In 2007, when I asked him why his sleep concept resonated with spa-goers, he told me, “Well, sleep is as universal a need as eating and drinking, so the demand will always be there as long as there are humans on planet Earth.” Did I mention Timeless Truths?
“Sleep has long been a Timeless Truth. Spas have always been about rest.”
Another sleep treatment I experienced in 2007 was called “Heaven in a Hammock,” at The Ritz-Carlton Spa at Amelia Island. The signature treatment, co-created by therapist Stacy Meyers, was a 60-minute ($175!) experience that involved being swayed and sort of massaged in the hammock with a warm neck roll, eye mask, and spritz of aromatherapy, while listening to a “nature” CD with sounds of crashing waves and birdsong. After the treatment, Meyers shared with me that many of her clients told her that after 15 minutes, it felt as if they’d slept for two hours.
By 2014 or so, sleep programming had really taken off. That’s the year Six Senses launched its “Sleep with Six Senses” initiative that included incorporating smart tech into rooms to “reduce anxiety and promote peaceful slumber.” It also featured a sleep butler, pillow menus, and sleep-specific spa treatments. That year, I traveled to Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa to experience the spa’s new open-air Night Spa ritual on a torch-lit beachside.
By 2017, it was full-steam ahead; a good example of offerings could be found at properties such as destination Spa Eastman in Canada, where sessions in the pod-like Neurospa to deliver deeply relaxing sleep were on offer and where naturopath Dr. Ilona Dowgiallo analyzed guests’ sleep patterns and natural rhythms.
I believe it was around this same time that Comfort Zone launched its Tranquillity Sleep Massage, combining aromatherapy with hypnotic bespoke Tranquillity Sound and gentle slow massage strokes. Comfort Zone worked with neuroscientist Dr. Claudia Aguirre to create the experience, and I had my first one at Carillon Miami Wellness Resort. As many of you are aware, Carillon continues to raise the sleep bar with the introduction of Bryte Balance Smart beds in all of its rooms, and its new four-night Sleep Well Retreat.
Smart Beds & Sleep Circuits
During a recent Carillon stay, I experienced the Bryte bed and booked the Sleep Well Circuit—two-and-a-half jampacked hours of touchless wellness therapies. On the Sleep Well Circuit: VEMI (Vibroacoustic Electro Magnetic and Infrared therapy); Salt Float Bath Therapy; BioCharger; Spa Wave Sleep Therapy; Somadome, and MindSpa. I love a good salt float, and was intrigued by the BioCharger. The Somadome was soothing, but I could live without the MindSpa.
At first glance, I was skeptical of the newfangled bed—but after fiddling with it and choosing which soundtrack to fall asleep to, I did just that. The bed personalizes your sleep experience by adjusting firmness and pressure—and emails your Sleep Insights report to you in the morning. It also gives you a benchmark, for example, I scored 97 percent sleep efficiency, compared to the benchmark of 81 to 89 percent. Sleep is now a competitive sport that I’m happy to be an expert at! Who knew?
That bed also gave me an unexpected morning: breakfast with America when a producer from Good Morning America invited me to join her on air to share my Bryte bed sleep experience with millions of Americans. Until that moment, I had never considered myself a “kiss and tell” kind of gal, however, dear reader, I confess that I spilled all.
But here’s the thing about sleep. As much as technology can help, one of the best naps I’ve had recently was at The Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, doing “hangtime,” a leisurely 20-minute hike through the woods until we get to a bunch of simple nylon hammocks hanging between trees. Nothing to it all—and it took all of five minutes to fall asleep. Marvelous!
Bottom line: We all have too much stuff. Too much to do. So, what does my hammock snooze tell me? To quote Professor Jonathan Paul de Vierville, spa historian and co-founder of the Balneology Association of North America (BANA), “Get more sleep. Do more dreaming: Live life—deeply, fully, and well.”
Mary Bemis
Mary Bemis is Founder & Editorial Director of InsidersGuidetoSpas.com. She is a pioneering spa journalist, most recently honored by Medika Life as one of the "Top 30 Influential Voices Transforming Wellness." She is an inaugural recipient of Folio's Top Women in Media Award, and was honored by ISPA with its distinguished ISPA Dedicated Contributor Award. In 1997, she launched American Spa magazine, and in 2007, Mary co-founded Organic Spa magazine. A pioneer in the sustainable spa and beauty worlds, Mary is co-curator of Cosmoprof North America's Discover Green Pavilion. She is a Global Wellness Day Advisor, and a co-founder of the Washington Spa Alliance.
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