Rest, Relax, Repeat: Exploring the World of Sleep Tourism
Summary: Sleep tourism, or “sleepcation,” is a rising trend where travelers seek rest, relaxation, and better sleep. With wellness resorts offering yoga, meditation, spa therapies, and sleep-focused amenities, it’s the perfect way to reset and recharge.
Sleep tourism is a new feather in the cap of the travel and tourism industry. Given the hectic lifestyle we lead, with stress, late nights, and less sleep, we often do not get sufficient rest. Sleep is a necessity that is now highly sought after and can be considered a luxury. Trust the travel and tourism industry to come up with the idea of “sleep tourism,” also known as a “sleepcation/napcation.” We have heard of vacations, staycations, and this is the new age “sleep-cation” – just what we need for peaceful and restful sleep. Paired with activities like yoga, meditation, walks, swimming, parlour/spa treatments, and healthy meals, it is the perfect rest and recovery-cation.
Vacations are a time to visit various destinations, try out new cuisines, shop till your drop, and party; after all, who sleeps on vacation? This trend has now transformed as people travel to get their much-needed sleep. How different this is! Providing an atmosphere conducive to restorative sleep with healthy condiments is the new mantra of the travel and tourism industry.
Studies and research
- Analysis of studies shows that maintaining good quality sleep in our younger years and middle age may protect us from age-related degenerative diseases in our older years, as cited by Scullin and Donald Bliwise, PhD, at Emory University in Perspectives in Psychological Science, Vol 10, No.1, 2015.
- A study shows that sleep apnea, a sleep disorder, occurs earlier than the age at which cognitive diseases occur, as mentioned by Ricardo S. Osorio, MD, at New York University School of Medicine, in Neurology, Vol 84, No.19, 2015).
- A review of more than two dozen studies shows that 15% of cases of Alzheimer’s disease occur as a result of sleep disorders, as found by Omonigho Bubu and others, in Sleep, Vol.. 40, No.1, 2017.
- A study showed that there was faster accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brains of mice that were sleep deprived. (David Holtzman, MD, Washington University at St. Louis – Science, Vol.326, No.5955, 2009).
- According to research, it has been discovered that deep sleep makes the glial cells in our brain shrink, that opens pathways for “fluid exchange which flushes out waste products such as beta-amyloid (Maiken Nedergaard, MD, University of Rochester / Science, Vol.. 342, No. 6156, 2013).
- A recent survey conducted by Localcircles shows that 59% of Indians sleep less than six hours at night, and only half of them catch up on their remaining sleep during the weekends. The other half, not managing at all.
Benefits of restorative sleep
- Repairs: Our body repairs itself while we sleep. A minimum of 7 to 9 hours of sleep is essential for repairing our body (muscle, tissue, immune system, among others); Sleep deprivation slows down these repairs, and therefore we wake up feeling tired the next morning.
- Rest: The entire day, we are on our feet, going about life and related activities. Sleep rests our body and charges our batteries.
- Cognitive boost: Sleep boosts our cognitive functions and lessens the possibility of related diseases like Alzheimer’s. It improves the functioning of our memory, attention span, reaction time and executive functions.
- Maintains blood pressure: Sufficient sleep helps to maintain our blood pressure levels.
- Good health: Sufficient sleep regulates the normal functions of our body and boosts our metabolism as well as aids digestion.
- Improves mood: Sufficient sleep improves our mood, calms us, relaxes us, and helps us focus and concentrate better.
- Glow: Sufficient sleep makes us look glowing and radiant.
- Stress buster: A sleepcation reduces our stress, calms us, soothes our nerves, and rejuvenates us.
- Productivity: A sleepcation recharges us and improves our productivity, as we feel rested enough to take on the upcoming challenges in our life/work.
5 sleepcation destinations in India worth exploring
- Coorg: This is a scenic and beautiful hill station in Karnataka, known for its lush greenery and serene atmosphere. Some resorts here boast of sleep-focused packages – Ayurvedic treatments, therapy sessions, meditation classes.
- Kodaikanal: This is a beautiful hill station in Tamil Nadu, known for its chocolates and pure Eucalyptus oil.
- Mysore: This is a city in Karnataka and is renowned for its temples and delicious food. There are Yoga retreats and hotels with Ayurvedic relaxing programs.
- Rishikesh: This is known as the Yoga Capital of India. It is tranquil and beautiful, surrounded by mountains and on the shores of the river Beas in Uttarakhand. The various Yoga and wellness resorts are worth enjoying.
- Goa: The go-to party place near Maharashtra, it is the ultimate travel destination for Indians and foreigners alike. Some resorts here offer relaxation and rejuvenation packages like spa treatments, healthy meals, and Yoga classes. There are many wellness resorts in India and abroad, where one can enjoy a sleepcation. Wellness resorts abroad include Six Senses – Ibiza, Aman – NYC, Bodyholiday – Saint Lucia, Tschuggen Grand -Arosa- Switzerland, The Springs Resort – Pagosa Springs – CO, Post Ranch Inn- Sur- CA, O2 Beach Club & Spa – Barbados, Mayflower Inn & Spa – Auberge Resort in Litchfield CT, Four Seasons Resort – Maui – Wailea, Las Alcobas- Mexico City.
Activities/amenities for sleepcations
Sleepcations are the perfect blend of rest and recharge. There is a rise of luxury hotels and resorts offering the ambience and amenities for good sleep– from AI-powered beds, temperature regulating mattresses, comfortable variety of pillows, meditation tools, soundproof rooms, blackout curtains, guided sleep rituals, luxury kit consisting of sleep tea, cooling eye masks, body butter, copper bracelet for relaxation, Sleep programmes like Yoga nidra, cryotherapy, personal training, consulting nutritionist, sleep tracking, amethyst-infused massages, Qi Gong, sound healing, all designed to promote good restorative sleep. What a mouthful! Activities like Yoga, meditation, spa treatments, curated healthy meals, and gentle walks all work together to give us the much-needed rest and desired sleep.
People are slowly realising that good uninterrupted sleep is as essential for good health as balanced meals and fitness. The wellness hotels/resorts collaborate with sleep experts/psychotherapists to provide assessments and curate sleep programs for their customers. The 360 approach is beneficial for restoring the balance of the nervous system through techniques like meditation and mindfulness practices, daily Yoga and exercises, herbal baths, soaking in the morning sunlight to balance the circadian rhythm and walking barefoot to balance the electromagnetic field of our body.
A collaboration of Charlie Morley ( a Lucid Dreaming teacher) with Hotel Kimpton Fitzroy – London, led to the designing of a Room to Dream package that gave the experience of lucid dreaming with the help of AI, to the guests. Morley led the guests through a guided meditation via a VA headset and specific herbal tea. The guests remembered their dreams the next morning and described them to an AI artist, who made visual representations of the dreams.
Enjoy a sleepcation at home
In case you cannot get away to a wellness resort, you can reap the benefits of a sleepcation at home by using the following techniques:
- Avoid bright artificial lights from laptops, computers, mobile phones, and overhead lights in the evening
- Keep your bed comfortable, use soft pillows, cool bedsheets, comfortable mattress
- Cover windows with black-out sheets
- Keep the room dark, cool and airy
- Maintain a regular sleep routine – warm bath, read a book, listen to soothing music, practice light breathing
- Be consistent in your night routine and see the difference.
- Blogs
- 9 September 2025
- 11:00
