SLEEP IS THE NEW STATUS SYMBOL

©Casper

“Sleep is the single most effective thing you can do to reset your brain and body,” Dr. Matthew P. Walker of U.C. Berkeley said. “We have a saying in medicine: What gets measured, gets managed.” The New York Times has spoke to a number of entrepreneurs, influencers and researchers from Silicon Valley and beyond that have invested into the sleep space. Formerly, inhabited by old-style mattress and pharmaceutical companies, today it is a USD 32 billion market.

At M.I.T.’s Media Lab, David Rose is investigating swaddling, bedtime stories and hammocks, as well as lavender oil and cocoons. Mr. Rose, a researcher, an inventor-entrepreneur and author and his colleagues have been testing weighted blankets to induce a swaddling sensation and listening to recordings of Icelandic fairy tales. Meanwhile, Dr. Walker is searching for a cure for sleeplessness in the aging brain. “I’ve got a mission,” he said. “I want to reunite humanity with the sleep it is so bereft of.” The mission of companies like Arianna Huffington's Thrive Global or the mattress engineers behind Casper are to end the stress and burnout epidemic. They are offering innovative, sustainable and science-based solutions to enhance well-being, performance and above all improve the sleeping patterns of individuals. 

If sleep used to be the new sex, as Marian Salzman, a trend spotter and chief executive of Havas PR North America, proclaimed 10 years ago, today it is a measure of success. Taking your time for a good night's sleep, or nap, does not mean to be lazy, instead it shall be seen as cultivating and nourishing. You are respecting and taking care of your body and mind. Sleeping is as a human potential enhancer and life extender.