Why Getting A Good Night’s Sleep Is More Important Than Ever

Golbal wakefulness is described as “the greatest public health challenge we face in the 21st century”. Photo / Getty Images It’s about the size of a large freezer, just tall enough for me to sit up in comfortably. I hit a button and the door slides to a close. On the wall ahead, an iridescent beach scene pulses. There’s a no-smoking sign in this cocoon of a room, a throw-back to its original destination as a Japanese capsule hotel; pods such as these are now showing up in companies throughout Asia — and the Google HQ — to encourage napping at work. When I lie back, the infrared memory-foam mattress warms me from head to toe, apparently boosting my collagen. I put on a black silk eye-mask and headphones and succumb to the sound of waves crashing, a mellow voice instructing me to breathe deeply and relaaaaax. This Star Trek -ish “SleepPod” is one of two at the new SleepDrops Sleep and Wellness Centre in Wairau Park, offering anyone in need of time out ample calming encouragement. The centre’s serene, Eastern-inspired interior adjoins a large factory where its eponymous top-selling supplement is produced. There’s a yoga and meditation area, a kinesiology space and rooms where specialists offer investigations into your sleep woes. The centre is the brainchild of SleepDrops inventor Kirsten Taylor, a naturopath who calls sleep the foundation of healing, and whose blend is sold here and in the US, Hong Kong and Singapore. Over the years she’s helped cystic fibrosis sufferers, sleep-deprived mums and those undergoing cancer treatment improve their shut-eye, but she was motivated to set up the centre when she realised the extent of sleeplessness in the wider community. In the 2017/18 New Zealand Health Survey, 31 per cent of respondents said they didn’t catch […]

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