The Sleep Renaissance

A solid eight hours is more highly rated than ever, and gives you matchless bragging rights in the office

Get your head around this: ‘The Combat of Love and Chastity’, by Gherardo di Giovanni del Fora, on your headboard

It goes without saying that high-quality sleep has become a trend, a must-have and a sales angle. Good sleep is to people in 2018 what several espressos for breakfast was to those in the 1980s.

Sleep sells, and all things somnolent – from mattresses to headboards and everything in between – will bubble up this month for a cluster of sleep-awareness initiatives. March is host to National Sleep Week (National Sleep Foundation), Safer Sleep Week (The Lullaby Trust), National Sleep Awareness Month, National Bed Month (Sleep Council), World Sleep Day, and National Napping Day in the US. Meanwhile, 26 March is Falafel Appreciation Day, so we’re in for a great month.

In particular, National Sleep Week will take place this year on 11-17 March, which as well as igniting scientific discussion around sleep and its endless benefits will also bring into the conversation bedroom design trends of 2018.

Luxury bedroom brands are exploring new sheeting and mattress innovations, all in the name of perfecting your sleep quality. Savoir Beds is creating mattresses filled with yak hair, from the rare and surprisingly fluffy Mongolian Khangai yak, and upholstering headboards with digitised iconic paintings from the National Gallery.

Lula Green, a small bedlinen manufacturer operating out of the depths of the Italian countryside, believes sleep is only worth undertaking if one is enveloped in organic linens – they actually hold the highest organic textile certification in the world. Serena Williams is leading a mattress revolution, racket held high for the new Tempur Hybrid mattress, designed by Nada (yes, really.) It seems as though a sleep renaissance is in full swing, and National Sleep Week 2018 (among other recognised sleep-offs) is the proverbial scatter cushion on the top.

In the Sleep Council’s annual Great British Bedtime Report, it was revealed that only 22 per cent of people surveyed thought that a new bed would improve their sleep, while the council’s own research found that a new bed was associated with an increase of 42 minutes of sleep.

Now, enter the Savoir Beds X Tengri collaboration, which sees the luxury bed brand combining its prestigious craftsmanship with Trengi’s Khangai Noble Fibres. The Savoir No 1 Khangai, as it is known, is created with eight kilograms of sustainably sourced yak fibres, hand-combed annually in Mongolia’s Khangai region. The new mattress and mattress topper promise “deep and restorative” sleep with the latest bedding innovation, involving the layering of the highest-quality natural materials.

Nancy Johnson, founder of Tengri, believes “sustainability and luxury shouldn’t be mutually exclusive”, adding that the new collaboration proves this, “achieving the epitome of aspirational luxury”. Maybe it really is time for an upgrade to catch those extra 42 minutes.

Like floating on water: Claude Monet’s ‘Water Lilies’

However, it isn’t just the technicalities of sleep optimisation that has played on the minds of Savoir Beds’s research and development team. The brand has partnered with design company Andrew Martin, which holds a licence to digitally reproduce iconic works from the National Gallery, to create striking headboards featuring a selection of masterpieces.

Previous manifestations of this exciting licence have come in the form of larger-than-life wall coverings and whimsical cushion covers. However, the three-way collaboration venerates the very notion of a bed and all it stands for. The beds are lavish expressions of maximalism: honouring the importance of sleep, and the indulgence it seems to have become.

For the minimalists among us, Sheridan Australia has launched a line of sheeting that rides the wave of the sleep-tech phenomenon. The Super Soft Tencel Cotton Sheet Collection combines two winning fibres: Tencel and high specification long staple cotton (not to mention a dreamy, pared-back colour palette).

This combination, according to Jo Jaggs, general manager of design at Sheridan, “enhances the inherent qualities of both fibres for the softest touch”. Premium Tencel, known for its lustrous sheen, also absorbs moisture fast and has anti-bacterial properties, making it perfect for sensitive skin. It seems sleep-tech extends beyond hanging dream-catchers and drinking chamomile tea before bedtime.

So, go forth and sleep through these final wintry throes, as the month of March requires. The National Sleep Foundation urges us to “Begin with Sleep”, a slogan to highlight sleep as a prerequisite for health in all areas of your life.

The Western world is sold on the notion of better-quality sleep, and you can see why. Another eye-opening statistic from the Sleep Council’s annual Great British Bedtime Report states that almost half of Britons say that stress or worry keeps them awake at night. So, whether you would prefer a Mongolian yak hair mattress or some new, breathable tech-savvy sheets, prioritise your sleep this month and reap the rewards! And remember – bragging to friends and colleagues about any somnolent success is essential.