With insomnia affecting millions of people around the world, the sleep retreat at Amangiri promises a four-day masterclass in the art of rest, informed by genetics. Olivia Palamountain reports
Amangiri, the luxury Utah desert resort by Aman, has launched a sleep retreat for February (18-21, 2021) that will offer both mental and emotional support alongside holistic spa therapies to aid a better night’s sleep.
As the health and wellness market evolves, almost every industry is looking at sleep as a crucial component to overall wellness and avoidance of chronic stress and burnout.
From smart tech to supplements, bedding to sleep services, according to a 2019 assessment by Frost & Sullivan, the global “sleep economy” is set to reach US$585 billion by 2024.
Globetrender predicts that sleep retreats will soon be extremely popular and hotels will be perfectly placed to offer them.
Leading the way is Aman. Developed alongside certified sleep specialist Dr Micheal Breus, participants of the Amangiri’s sleep retreat will embark on a “relaxing yet enlightening journey, mastering everything there is to know about the art of sleep”. 
Following a pre-arrival assessment and one-on-one interview with Breus, guests will be assigned a “chrono-type”, a genetically pre-determined sleep schedule that will serve as the basis for the rest of the retreat.
Each day, participants will experience a “practitioner-led wake-up routine”, and learn how to manage their intake of caffeine and alcohol so as to increase the quality of their rest at night. They will also be given an Oura Ring to track their sleep. 
The four-day programme also includes three night’s full-board accommodation at the Amangiri, airport transfers from Page Arizona and personalised schedules.
These will include and individualised practitioner-led wake-up routine every day, daily 60-minute morning yoga classes, therapeutic cold-water plunges and lectures covering topics such as “Sleep Genetics” and how to create the perfect “sleep environment”.
Insomnia is one of Britain’s biggest health issues. It affects millions of people and is often caused by stress, anxiety or depression.
According to The Guardian, the lockdown in Britain has only made things worse, triggering a sharp increase in anxiety-related sleeping problems, with mothers, key workers and people from minority ethnic backgrounds the worst affected, a study shows.
The number of Britons suffering sleep loss caused by worrying rose from one in six to one in four as a direct result of the huge disruption to people’s social and working lives after the restrictions began on 23 March.
Social isolation, loss of employment, financial problems, illness, fear of getting infected with coronavirus and the pressures of juggling work and home-schooling all contributed to the trend.
Professor Jane Falkingham, from the Economic and Social Research Council-funded Centre for Population Change at Southampton University, which undertook the research, said: “Sleep loss affected more people during the first four weeks of the Covid-19 related lockdown than it did before. We observed a large increase in the number of Britons, both men and women, suffering anxiety-induced sleep problems.
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