READY FOR DRIFT OFF

A new wave of sleep retreats and spas are offering another way to get some shut-eye.

- DEANNA PAI

It would seem there has never been a better time to be tired. If you don't feel well-rested for whatever reason—fear–dread over the latest headlines; up–all–night kids, work deadlines; insert whatever anxiety–inducing thing is keeping you wide–eyed—there’s a new tincture, supplement, or sleepy–girl mocktail to help knock you out. And, for the most exhausted among us, another option has recently cropped up: sleep retreats. Getaways where the only goal is for you to get some serious rest. Not simply with a complimentary eye mask or massage package, but with deeply immersive experiences that, with the help of sleep scientists and multi–day itineraries, are aimed at ensuring you log a good eight hours—and, hopefully, revamp your sleep habits in the long term, too.

Wellness is a big, robust, growing sector, comprised of all the things that are aimed at making us well. The $1.8 billion industry is expected to grow by 10 percent this year alone and sleep tourism is a part of that. A McKinsey & Company Future of Wellness study reported that millennials and Gen Z spent nearly as much on the pursuit of sleep in 2023 as they did on nutrition and fitness.

Which makes sense, given that one in three adults in the U.S. don’t get enough sleep at night, according to the CDC. For women, that number is even worse: A 2024 report in the medical journal Sleep Medicine Reviews found that women have lower sleep quality than men. There are biological reasons for this—pregnancy, menopause—but stress is to blame, too. The busy balance of work and life can make it hard to clock in enough shut– eye. Anxiety and depression are at an all–time high globally, as well, and research shows that women with these conditions are more likely to develop insomnia than men.