If you’re struggling to get decent sleep, help is at hand with wellness destinations across Asia and beyond offering dedicated sleep-improving rituals and treatments.
We can all attest to the importance of some decent shut-eye. Quality sleep is essential for physical and mental well-being, with research indicating that a lack of sleep can affect brain function, heart health, and the immune system – and that doesn’t sound like fun.
READ: Master Whisky Maker Laura Rampling on Tradition & Innovation
“Physiologically, sleep is important for a human body to regenerate the damaged cells,” says Keiko Watanabe, Spa & Wellness Producer and Manager for Hoshino Resorts. “When we are tired or sick, we need to sleep to recover and when we feel stressed, we can mentally be refreshed with a good sleep. However, it’s not always easy to reap the benefits of good sleep or feel rested even after having a good night’s rest, because the key to good rest is having a well-balanced auto-nervous system.”
Hotels are (rather ironically) increasingly realising the importance of sleep to their guests, with many launching dedicated sleep therapies as well as sleep-enabling kits and amenities.
READ: A Modern Man’s Guide to Dressing Right
“We recognise that true well-being begins with a good night’s sleep,” says Thea Wong, director of Well-being at the recently reopened Grand Hyatt Singapore, which has launched a new sleep promotion campaign called Sleep at Hyatt. “Sleep at Hyatt brings this vision to life, creating a unique sleep experience that combines the best in natural relaxation products with the tranquil surroundings of our reimagined hotel.”
Here are a few spots specialising in delivering help for the insomniacs among us.
Poorly managed stress can have severe consequences on your health and may manifest physically, mentally, or emotionally. At REVĪVŌ Wellness Resort Bali, the wellness team begins its sleep retreats by focusing on lifestyle factors and stressors to help guests discover elements that might be preventing them from getting a good night’s sleep. Then tired lads can experience the transformative power of the spa resort’s soothing treatments, guided meditation sessions, and revitalising yin yoga sessions, which have been designed to leave you feeling profoundly rested, completely relaxed, and thoroughly rejuvenated.
READ: Elevate Your Style with These Luxury Men’s Scarves
There’s also a healthy menu – laced with stress-relieving foods – designed to guide you towards a healthier eating routine, and if that doesn’t help, a signature massage, Javanese Lulur session, healing reiki, and a host of amenities included in the resort’s Nocturno programme (including a lavender eye pillow, bath ritual, teas, and rhythmic breathing meditation lamp) are close at hand.
Hoshinoya Tokyo
Despite being in one of the busiest spots on the planet, Hoshinoya Tokyo has your kip covered with its Deep Breathing Regimen, a wellness programme designed to balance the auto-nervous, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Believe it or not, deep breathing is always one of the most efficient ways of balancing that pesky auto-nervous system.
READ: The World’s Most Exclusive Member-Only Clubs
At Hoshinoya Tokyo, most of the programme’s segments are designed to rebalance and relax your body for deep breathing, to get into a comfortable posture and to sleep well. Of course, you’ll also enjoy plenty of healthy and delicious Japanese cuisine and the chance to soak your worries away in the hotel’s modern onsen complex.
137 Pillars Hotels & Resorts
Available at both 137 Pillars Suites & Residences Bangkok and 137 Pillars House Chiang Mai and conducted either at each hotel’s Nitra Serenity Centre or in the comfort of the guest’s suite, the four-part Sleep Therapy treatment has been created to calibrate and touch all the senses in a blissful, relaxing 90-minute ritual to prepare the mind and body for a deep restorative sleep.
READ: A Journey of Gin Discovery
Beforehand, the stage is set with dimmed lighting, warm towels, the temperature set to between 23-25 Celsius, a specially formulated Sleep by Design room spray, an essential oil burner lit, and Binaural beats (sound wave therapy to induce relaxation and slow breathing rate). This is followed by a gentle floral foot cleansing ritual, the application of magnesium oil on the ten key pulse points of the body, and a five-minute Reiki treatment on the seven chakra points, on which oil is also applied. Then there’s the rhythmic massage using Sleep by Design oil, followed by a Chi Ne Tsang abdominal massage, a final Reiki session, and a soothing bath using specially curated Sleep by Design bath salts. Your insomnia won’t stand a chance.
Grand Hyatt Singapore
The recently reopened Grand Hyatt Singapore has launched its “Sleep at Hyatt” campaign, a holistic wellbeing initiative that includes a curated Sleep Kit comprising products from wellness brand iKOU designed to promote deep relaxation and calm the mind. Each iKOU Sleep Kit consists of a sleeping mask, a sleep-friendly tea (no, that’s Thailand), a de-stress room mist, bath salts (not those ones) infused with essential oils, and a Sleepyhead Aromatherapy pulse points roll-on.
READ: Foods That Will Make You a Better Lover
You can also pre-empt your sleep with a sip in the hotel’s Air Lounge Hydro Pool, or soak in the goodness of the Dual Therapy Sauna and Halo Steam Room.
Raffles Bali
Recognising the importance of sleep, Raffles Bali has created a range of carefully curated rituals to enhance relaxation and promote a restorative night’s rest. These include sleep-inducing teas from the premium Dammann Frères Tea selection; gentle pre-sleep yoga or stretching sessions; and Earth Eye Masks, which enhance the benefits of conventional eye masks with the added benefits of healing crystals, which support relaxation and encourage a smoother transition into sleep by stimulating facial nerves and promoting melatonin production.
READ: Celebrity Barber Sarah Hamizi on Maintaining Traditions
Raffles Bali also offers Mood Audio sessions, combining soundscapes, brainwave frequencies, and Isochronic tones to balance emotions and improve neuroplasticity; and, as part of the pre-sleep ritual, a jamu-inspired sleep beverage made with fresh herbs and spices, promoting relaxation and digestion, and a local pandan kueh desert, made with pandan leaves known for their benefits in improving sleep, regulating blood sugar, and detoxifying the body, completes the experience.
Domes Zeen Chania
If you’re looking to take your insomnia on tour, make for Domes Zeen Chania, set on the beaches of the Greek island of Chania, where the Soma Spa offers a multi-day Sleep Recovery Package. The first day begins with an aromatherapy massage, featuring a fusion of 13 pure essential oils, including Elemi and Palmarosa, both commonly used to relax muscles and reduce fatigue. This is followed by a Glow Facial (you lucky lad!) to lay the foundation for a balanced circadian rhythm through the use of pre-biotics and wholesome ingredients.
READ: The StandardX Bangkok Phra Arthit is Almost Here
On day two, guests will enjoy a head and scalp massage using ancient Indian techniques to coax the mind and body into a state of relaxation (followed perhaps by a cooling dip?), and on day three enjoy the Full Body CBD Relaxing Massage, which will revitalise sleep by decreasing the heart rate, and which is followed by a soothing foot massage to ensure pure relaxation from the ground up.
COMO Metropolitan Singapore
COMO Hotels & Resorts and the global luxury wellness brand, COMO Shambhala have collaborated on a new “Sleep Dreams” initiative at COMO Metropolitan Singapore. As a good night’s sleep has the power to enhance cognitive function, strengthen the immune system, and increase emotional well-being, the brand has worked closely with interior architect Koichiro Ikebuch to design guest rooms that promote healthy sleep-wake cycles. These relaxing, cocoon-like havens ensure quality sleep for guests, which can be especially transformative for travellers crossing time zones or overworking themselves in their awake hours.
READ: Five Iconic Styles to Rock This Movember 2024
Within the lush COMO Suites and Cairnhill Rooms booked as part of the offer, guests will have access to SleepHub technology, which uses sound technology backed by 10 years of scientific research to promote ideal sleep cycles. To further enhance travellers’ sleep quality, guests will have access to two AirPod hydroxy mild hyperbaric wellness devices, which allow users to receive 50% more oxygen than breathing alone.
Domes Noruz Mykonos
Located in Agios Stefanos, a short 10-minute drive from the legendary nightlife destination of Mykonos and set against a picturesque backdrop of spectacular beaches, classic white-washed houses, and rolling hills Domes Noruz Mykonos’ Soma Spa offers the urban-weary the Cloud High CBD Relaxing Massage, which is designed to ease pain and inflammation through its utilisation of sleep-inducing CBD ingredients. The massage puts guests into a rest-and-digest state, encouraging the body to surrender all toxins through massaging the guests’ areas of concern.
READ: Cathay Launches New Business Class
Guests can also indulge in the Energy All Over, Stone Massage, which utilises hot stones to release tension trapped within the muscles while reducing stress and anxiety. Promoting immunity and better sleep, guests will have hot stones placed on key points of their body, warming tight muscles and allowing the therapist to apply deeper pressure to the area.
Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
A destination for wellness and spirituality, Bali carries a long tradition of healing and inner reflection. Drawing on ancient practices, The Mandapa Spa at Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve boasts a Sleep Support Therapy treatment assisting with sleep concerns and insomnia and allowing guests to experience true relaxation.
READ: The La Dolce Vita is the Ultimate Italian Escape
The treatment begins with guided meditation and yogic pranayamas, which enhance vital energy levels. Designed to release tension and balance the biorhythm, the treatment continues with full body and facial massages using potent active ingredients to stimulate the pineal gland. The treatment ends with an ancient technique: The Nasya, a nasal oil application used for centuries to deepen and improve sleep.
Milaidhoo Maldives
Located in the heart of the Baa Atoll, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Milaidhoo Maldives offers the sleep-deprived the Tranquil Sleep Ritual, as well as sunrise yoga classes for when you’ve recharged those batteries.
The Sleep Ritual starts with a soothing Milaidhoo massage, a skillful combination of breathing techniques that awaken the senses, followed by the gentle heat of a Milaidhoo’s beach sand compress, calming the nervous system and restoring the body’s natural healing processes, and a dinner menu crafted to nourish both body and soul.
READ: Dining in the Trees in Northern Thailand
After dinner, guests sink into relaxation with a singing bowl meditation that calms the Muladhara, the root chakra located at the base of the spine, creating a profound inner peace. Combining a foot wash, frankincense smoke, and Tibetan singing bowls, this treatment induces a deep sense of stillness and is finished with a blissful bath ceremony that will have you drifting off into a deep, restorative sleep.
The Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa
A sanctuary of the senses, the Saxon Spa at the new Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa in Johannesburg boasts cascading water features, lush gardens, and quiet surroundings that set the scene for the Saxon Signature Rebalancing Package, a unique seven-hour treatment that incorporates rejuvenating techniques and high-tech equipment designed to realign the body’s natural balance and aid in a good night’s sleep.
READ: Time to Escape to Hoi An
The package unfolds with a 60-minute sleep therapy treatment, settling guests onto a floatation bed designed to mimic a mother’s womb and allowing the programmed lighting and voice-over (we’re expecting James Earl Jones) to guide them into a restful sleep. Once complete, the therapist will then lead guests through a full-body Rejuvenating Himalayan Journey, including a milk foot ritual to dissolve stress, a Himalayan salt scrub to renew skin cells, and finally a stress-dissolving hot granite massage. Finally, a cold Rose Quartz is applied to relieve and heal muscular inflammation.
Tschuggen Grand Hotel
The Tschuggen Grand Hotel in Arosa, Switzerland, offers an exclusive Dream Butler Experience for guests to disconnect from the outside world and focus on the power of rest. The Dream Butler Experience has been created for guests to achieve optimal sleep during their stay, something that is sometimes tricky to achieve while on vacation in a foreign place with different surroundings.
READ: Time to Rock in Wong Chuk Hang
The offering begins at the Tschuggen Bergoase Spa, where muscles are soothed in preparation for sleep. Meanwhile, the Dream Butler prepares the guest room, setting the correct temperature and humidity, dimming the lights, selecting a pillow from a specially curated menu, picking a calming book for guests to read before bed, and arranging an in-room dinner, complete with dishes and ingredients known to promote a good night’s sleep.
Eriro
Eriro is a new luxury mountain retreat elevating the Alpine experience within the Alps of Ehrwald, Austria. Emphasising silence as the experience, every design element within the eriro spa has been carefully selected to create a harmonious connection with nature and connect guests with the element earth. The entire spa is meticulously designed to connect one with nature, even placing the spa area underground amidst the raw beauty of rocks, forests, and meadows.
READ: Top Weekend Escape Destinations in Asia
For travellers seeking an experience focused on restfulness and deep, restorative sleep, Eriro offers an innovative approach to sound therapy with a completely dark sound room located in the back of the spa that enables absolute concentration on the body and mind. The selected music, accompanied by a nature film shown on a screen, emerges through two singing bowls that can be felt throughout the body like a massage, promoting body awareness and relaxation. These vibrations mimic the Earth’s natural frequency, creating a profound sense of connection with the very ground beneath.
Maruia River Retreat
Restore your body and mind with quality deep sleep and proper rest Downunder at New Zealand’s Maruia River Retreat, where luxury villas have been outfitted to support a rejuvenating and deeper sleep experience with the most comfortable beds, pillows choices, luxury linens, blackout curtains and the sound of nature enveloping your private villa.
READ: Pelorus Creates Unforgettable Mission Impossible-themed Trip
In addition, on most weekends, the seven-room retreat’s Resident Yoga teacher hosts a complimentary The Magic of Better Sleep workshop with practical applications and best practices to optimise your sleep as well as your day.
The Standard, Hua Hin
Known for its high-energy parties, The Standard, Hua Hin also excels in orchestrating a good night’s sleep and complementing its silky sheets and fluffy pillows are new slumber-inducing therapies designed to rebalance sleep and energy patterns. From calming sound systems to CBD massages and vibrational healing at the spa, your path to restorative rest starts in Hua Hin.
READ: Why an Ice Bath Should Be Part of Your Routine
Before retreating to their cosy sleep nests, guests are encouraged to allow at least one hour for digestion. Winding down options include beach walks, garden meditation and the signature CBD oil massage. Thanks to the cannabis plant’s ability to regulate bodily functions, this gentle treatment alleviates stress and induces a state of tranquillity. You might also like to try the Good Vibrations sound healing treatment, which calms the nervous system, reduces cortisol levels, clears mental clutter and improves mood. The overall effect is one of deep relaxation, making it easier to drift off and enjoy a deeper, more restful sleep.
For more Wellness inspiration click here.
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? FOLLOW ALPHA MEN ASIA ON FACEBOOK, OR INSTAGRAM AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR HONG KONG-CENTRIC NEWSLETTER HERE
