Sleepcation: Rest is the New Luxury

ACROSS THE WORLD, HOTELS AND RESORTS ARE USING LATEST TECHNOLOGIES AND HOLISTIC PRACTICES TO OFFER SLEEP-IMPROVING VACATIONS

- BY SMITA TRIPATHI

For her annual break this year, Rukmini Singh, a 37-year-old corporate lawyer, did not go for a wine tour to Europe or a beach holiday to Thailand. Instead, she signed up for a five-night ‘Sleep with Six Senses’ programme at Six Senses Vana, near Dehradun.

The team combined data from her sleep tracker with expert consultations from wellness specialists and customised a programme for her— including mind-body practices like Yoga Nidra and meditation, calming therapies like Shirodhara, a traditional Ayurvedic treatment, and Tibetan sound journeys for relaxation. At ₹65,000 per night per person, she was also provided personalised dietary recommendations to optimise her nervous system function and enhance sleep quality.

Singh is not alone. Thanks to our stress-ful lives, most of us are sleep deprived. As per a report in the Indian Journal of Sleep Medicine, 61% Indians sleep less than seven hours on an average, while experts recommend seven-nine hours daily.

Little wonder, people are taking holidays just to rest and recharge. According to a report by search aggregator and travel agency Skyscanner, ‘Reset Jetters’, 70% Indian travellers say they feel more mindful about their overall health and wellbeing. Similarly, as per Hilton’s report ‘The 2024 Traveller’, the primary reason people wanted to travel was to rest and recharge. This included 55% Gen Z, 60% millennials, and 68% Gen X.

This emerging travel trend is being dubbed as ‘napcations’, ‘dream tourism’ or gently rocked in a cocoon-like hammock ‘sleep tourism’—offering guests the opportunity to enjoy quality sleep—and hotels and resorts across the globe are going all out to ensure you catch the necessary snooze time.