In a new series from The Sleep Geek, aka James Wilson, he explains what exactly a sleep expert actually is.
In simple terms, it means if you have some expertise in an area of sleep, and can show that expertise, then you are a sleep expert. The issue is there are no governing bodies, regulation or much structure around how we tell the difference between the different types of sleep expertise. This makes sleep strangely unique within the world of health and wellbeing, where there are clear definitions of different roles in similar industries such as nutrition or exercise. This means it is easy for people to say they are an expert, and talk about areas of sleep they don’t have expertise in.
For example, you wouldn’t find the CEO of a sports retailer selling exercise clothing giving advice in the media on how to put together a training regime that will build muscle. This would be given to someone with qualifications or experience in Strength and Conditioning or are a PT or something similar.
Yet in sleep we have sleep brand CEO’S, in the media, being referred to as “sleep experts” delivering sleep advice, for example around dealing with jetlag, or how poor sleep can impact whether we may suffer from Alzheimer’s at some point in the future, despite having no expertise in these areas of sleep, beyond maybe listening to a podcast, or using someone else’s content.
The optics of this are not great for the industry, this approach lacks credibility and leaves us looking unprofessional, but because there is no regulation, there is no register of who is qualified to speak on certain subjects in sleep, nobody is doing anything wrong.
So, what can you do in your sleep brand? Use real sleep expertise when you need it. The media have a question about jetlag, use a practitioner who supports people who deal with jet lag. A journalist wants a quote about Alzheimer’s and sleep, using someone with experience around sleep education, who can explain the science behind sleep in a way that is easy for people to understand.
If someone wants to know about mattresses or other sleep products, then a sleep retail CEO or another member of staff should be qualified to answer that question. Not only does this approach give your brand more credibility, it also helps our part of sleep look more professional and credible.
If anyone wants some help finding an expert who would work with their organisation 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.
