In a new series from The Sleep Geek, aka James Wilson, he talks about linking sleep problems to products that can make a difference.
If sleep is the foundation our health is built on, then our mattress, pillow and duvet are the foundations of good sleep.
There are four things we need to live. Food, water, air and sleep. You can live longer without food (19 days) than you can live without sleep (nine days.) The products we develop and sell are that important to human health, yet poor sleepers don’t start with the products they spend more time with, than anything else they own.
I work with people who have been waking in the night and they buy a mediation app. Thing is they are waking with back pain. So, they could meditate until the cows came home, it won’t help, but the right mattress could.
When working with poor sleepers, one of the first questions I ask is about sleep posture and the products they sleep on and under. It is that important, as if the foundation of their sleep is not right, then it is harder to address any other issues they may have. The products we sell are so important to us sleeping in a healthy position, and to be the right temperature for sleep. This gives us, as an industry, a real opportunity to help more people, and for us to be at the centre of the conversation around sleep health and wellbeing, but we need to ensure the advice we are giving is helpful to the individual and honest. Less sizzle and more knowledge linking the problems of the sleeper to the products that can make a difference.
It isn’t just the sleeper we need to educate, but also others in the sleep world. If I meet a researcher, I always ask them about what mattresses and pillows they recommend for certain issues. I get a blank stare back. They may mention a brand they have heard of, but they cannot tell me what sort of sleeper it suits. If I ask them about a favourite sleep tracker, they can wax lyrical for hours, which is not only boring, but also worrying. Only 15% of the UK population use a sleep tracker, while pretty much every single person sleeps on a mattress. We don’t just have to convince consumers that we are a knowledgeable source of sleep information and help; we also have to convince the rest of the sleep world this is the case too.
We need to be clearer about what products give answers to what problems, and get away from generic claims that “this product will give you perfect sleep,” and we need to ensure that staff training goes beyond listening to a few podcasts or reading a couple of articles.
An example of where we can improve is around back and how back pain products are so important to those suffering with these issues, but if we market our brand on the basis that we can help, whilst promoting pillows for front sleepers, then we are contributing to the problem.
It’s obvious, properly trained staff, products that have clear messaging around what problems they solve, and credible marketing give sleeper retailers the opportunity to help more people and reap the commercial rewards. What are you going to do? Let me know.
About the Sleep Geek
James Wilson (AK The Sleep Geek) is a Sleep Educator & Practitioner and founder of kipmate. He has worked with the likes of Zurich, Next, Under Armour and West Ham United helping their people kip better. He offers training and certification for retailers, and a certification scheme for sleep products.
