Lack of sleep can be debilitating to say the least, both physically and mentally. But for some, a good night’s rest is but a dream, leading to mood changes, weight gain, weakened immunity and more serious medical conditions if insomnia persists. With World Sleep Day on 17 March, we’ve curated the best global sleep retreats that will help you address your sleeping patterns and hopefully disappear into the Land of Nod.
The World’s Most Effective Sleep Retreats
Six Senses
Doura Valley, Portugal
Luxury hotel group Six Senses takes sleep very seriously. So much so, it currently offers its popular Sleep Programme – devised in collaboration with revered sleep doctor Michael J.Breus Ph.D. – across 15 resorts including the Douro Valley in Portugal, Oman’s Zighy Bay, as well as its latest openings in Crans-Montana and Rome. While each programme varies in length (you can choose between three-, five- or seven-nights) and content, depending on local experts and inspiration, the premise remains the same.
Zighy Bay, Oman
The programme is designed to implement sustainable sleep routines and improve sleep patterns, which in turn will restore energy, de-stress and prepare you for whatever curveballs might come your way. A tracker and app are used to identify sleep patterns, after which a consultant will devise a tailored treatment schedule. This will include a blend of wellness therapies (yoga, pranayama, meditation…); low intensity training, the likes of forest hikes; nutrition advice; and myriad relaxing spa treatments – the sleep retreat of dreams.
Lefay Resort & Spa
Lake Garda, Italy
Lefay Resort & Spa overlooking Lake Garda has something of a reputation amongst wellness devotees, with guests returning again and again for its meticulous facilities and in-depth expertise. Here, you’ll find a blend of traditional Chinese medicine combined with scientific know-how. The five-night sleep programme is based on the belief that insomnia is the result of an energy imbalance and that by stimulating and realigning the energy lines, slumber will no longer be evasive.
On arrival, guests have a medical examination to determine energy levels, before a treatment plan is put in place. One day this could involve moxibustion (a form of heat therapy that involves the burning of dried plant materials to promote healing) or cryotherapy, another day it could be reflexology and a guided walk in the energy and therapeutic garden or a qigong session. Any spare time can be spent in the outstanding spa, which in itself is surely conducive to rest and repose.
Kamalaya
Koh Samui, Thailand
Hugging Koh Samui’s south coast, Kamalaya is so much more than soft white sand, crystalline lagoon and swaying palms. This wellness sanctuary is built around the Monk’s Cave, an area once inhabited by Buddhist monks for meditation and retreat. This sets the tone throughout, where the emphasis is on nurturing guests through nature via a series of healing programmes for tired bodies and minds.
Whether booked in for the seven-day or nine-day Sleep Enhancement Programme, the goals are the same: to learn the tools to create optimal conditions for sleep and increase the depth and duration of that shuteye. Working alongside the resort’s naturopath, life enhancement mentor and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, kick off your stay with a Body Bio-impedance Analysis (a tool to assess body health). Afterwards, you’ll follow a timetable of treatments and bioresonance therapy, alongside nutritional guidance and supplementation – all designed to introduce a deep state of relaxation.
Sha Wellness Clinic
Spain
The pioneering SHA Wellness Clinic – located between Spain’s Sierra Helada National Park and the Bay of Altea in Alicante – combines medical innovation and natural therapies to generate scientifically proven results. It goes without saying that healthy sleep forms a pivotal part of its approach and guests can add sleep treatments and therapies to all the bespoke health programmes on offer.
Guests will have an initial sleep consultation with the clinic’s expert team, who’ll use state-of-the-art technology to do a deep-dive into sleep patterns. This might include a CPAP diagnosis and treatment, allowing the team to stop and rectify any disturbances in an individual’s sleep architecture, and a psychophysiological test of sleep which engages sensors to collect body signals from day to night. Following the diagnostics a plan is formulated – incorporating first-rate treatments – to improve emotional wellbeing, diet and physical exertion, all of which may be contributing to the issue.
Longevity Health and Wellness Hotel
Alvor, Portugal
Billing itself as a ground-breaking adults-only health and wellness property, this 70-room hotel combines modern integrative and regenerative medicine with advanced wellness and preventative diagnostics and therapies. If you’re looking to rejuvenate and rebalance, this is the place to be. So, too, if you’re suffering sleep issues, thanks to its Sleep Optimisation Programme, which includes a holistic health check, including a sleep apnoea screening – a condition that causes breathing to stop involuntarily for brief periods of time during sleep, leading to fatigue, headaches and poor memory.
Over a minimum stay of seven nights, the packed programme includes biophysical, nutritional and wellbeing evaluations; emotional detox and mindfulness therapy; guided meditation; Epsom salt flotations; longevity infusions and a detox kit (enema, detox supplements, detox teas); massages and more.
Shanti Maurice
Mauritius
With its uninterrupted views across the Indian Ocean, bougainvillaea and frangipani strewn grounds and super-luxe villas, Shanti Maurice is a world away from the every day. But this island idyll offers so much more than snorkelling, seafood and sunsets. It can help remedy your sleep issues too.
Choose between the five- or seven-night Sleep and Recovery Package which has been purposefully designed to induce a state of relaxation and encourage a restful night. During the five-night option, for example, guests will have a wellness consultation on arrival, followed by a series of treatments in the top-notch Spa. Pranayama, Reiki, Tibetan Sound massage, Magnesium sleep therapy, Shirodhara… all are designed to coax you into a deep slumber.
Anantara Peace Haven
Tangalle, Sri Lanka
With its uninterrupted views across the Indian Ocean, bougainvillaea and frangipani strewn grounds and super-luxe villas, Shanti Maurice is a world away from the every day. But this island idyll offers so much more than snorkelling, seafood and sunsets. It can help remedy your sleep issues too.
Choose between the five- or seven-night Sleep and Recovery Package which has been purposefully designed to induce a state of relaxation and encourage a restful night. During the five-night option, for example, guests will have a wellness consultation on arrival, followed by a series of treatments in the top-notch Spa. Pranayama, Reiki, Tibetan Sound massage, Magnesium sleep therapy, Shirodhara… all are designed to coax you into a deep slumber.
Grand Resort Bad Ragaz
Switzerland
The NEWYOU Method is the health and wellbeing concept at esteemed Swiss medi-spa Grand Resort Bad Ragaz. Seamlessly incorporating all the resort’s strengths in a portfolio of unique programmes, it promises guests holistic, results-based experiences during their five-star stay. Packages include the likes of the four-day ‘My Microbiome’ – a comprehensive examination of your gastrointestinal ecosystem and metabolism – or ‘Recharge’ to calm the mind and relieve stress.
While the wellness resort doesn’t offer a specific sleep programme per se, it has a department specialised in ‘Sleep medicine’, which is suitable for all those who suffer from problems falling asleep or sleeping through the night, daytime tiredness, lack of energy, concentration difficulties or disturbances of the sleep-wake rhythm. After diagnostic tests, the resort’s in-house doctors and therapists will advise on a programme that could incorporate anything from Inner Balance Chakra Massage to ear candling, all designed to lead to a better night’s rest.
Revivo
Bali
Revivo is a wellness retreats brand, with outposts in France and Bali. The latter is set high in the hills in Nusa Dua, surrounded by teak forest. Originally the holiday home of Aman Resorts founder Adrian Zecha, it has been transformed into a minimalist sanctuary, with 16 thatched roof villas dotted around the tropical gardens. So far, so seriously zen.
There are a handful of immersive retreats to choose from, including Sleep Well, a sleep retreat which promises to help combat imbalances that may be causing sleeping issues. Each one is tailored to the individual and includes a private consultation to ascertain current sleeping patterns and lifestyle. Afterwards, a daily plan is put in place covering everything from yoga and reflexology to lavender baths and meditation, not to mention classes, workshops and lectures. A specially devised menu, sleep butlers and a breathing meditation lamp in each room all add to the sleep journey.
Marbella Club
Spain
There is so much more to this Mediterranean grande dame than its buzzy beach bar and glamorous clientele. The Marbella Club has an exemplary wellness offering. The sun-drenched setting lends itself perfectly to the Lifestyle Programmes on offer at the resort, which range from ‘Cleanse & Purify’ to ‘Beach Ready’.
One of the most popular is ‘Tranquility and Sleep Enhancing’ (choose between two, four or seven nights), which promises to use evidence-based techniques to improve your quality of sleep. These could include marine magnesium or calcium wraps, hydramemory facials, reflexology and more. Also included are three meals a day, daily fitness activities, freshly squeezed juices and unlimited access to the spa facilities and the Thalasso dynamic seawater pool.
Canyon Ranch
Tucson, USA
Although not a sleep retreat per se, those who want to get to the root of their sleep issues could head to Canyon Ranch in Arizona. Set deep in the Sonoran desert, this all-inclusive wellness haven was established in 1979, and continues to attract people the world over who are drawn to its holistic approach.
Guests choose a Pathway experience – expertly-curated personalised programmes with names like ‘Reconnect With Joy’, ‘Personal Discovery’ or ‘Just Be Here’. There follows nutritious eating plans, spa treatments and consultations with a deeply knowledgeable team. As an add-on, opt for the overnight scientific-led Sleep Screening. A sleep device monitors periods of apnea and wake/sleep by using Peripheral Arterial Tone, a non-invasive window into respiratory disturbances during sleep. Having studied the results, a physician will then make recommendations for the relevant treatments.
