Although quality sleep is essential to wellbeing, it can be a challenge when you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed. March 19 marks World Sleep Day, which serves as an important reminder to prioritize a good night’s rest. In celebration, The Spa at Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort is offering guests a variety of relaxing massage treatments and homecare products to help them drift off to dreamland.
The spa’s signature 80-minute Sleep Ritual Massage ($375), which is designed to induce a state of relaxation, was developed in partnership with Robert Michael deStefano, sleep wellness expert and co-founder of Longeva. It incorporates dreamy music, breathing techniques that focus on seven specific somatic zones, and a combination of sleep-inducing botanical scents and touch therapies designed to relax the body and prepare it for sleep. The service also comes with a home-care DreamKit to help guests enjoy a restful sleep at home. “This treatment really helps guests unlock their deepest, most satisfying sleep,” says senior director of spa Derek Hofmann
According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), short sleepers, or those who average fewer than seven hours a night were more likely to report a host of chronic health conditions, such as coronary heart disease, cancer, depression, and diabetes, compared to those who got the recommended amount of sleep. “Sleep loss is really affecting people age 30 and older,” says deStefano. “It’s no mystery, as so many of us are hardwired into our phones and laptops nearly 24/7. Our eyes, bodies, and brain become exhausted, but our minds find very little rest. The negative effect is immediate and cumulative, from sluggish and foggy, to weight gain and mounting anxiety.”
According to Glamour magazine, there is a new phenomenon called bedtime revenge procrastination, which is when you forsake sleep because you feel you haven’t had enough time for yourself. Even if you aren’t choosing to stay awake, it’s easy to feel as if a bevy of factors are conspiring to keep you from a good night’s sleep. Creating the ideal sleep environment is just one way to promote better sleep. Reggie Bello, director of housekeeping at Four Seasons Resort Orlando, recommends making small adjustments—cooling the room with a fan or leaving a dim bedside light on—to create a calming setting that encourages sleep. “An aromatherapy diffuser or a white noise machine can also set the mood for sleep,” says Bello.
Guests at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando can also take advantage of the Essential Sleep Drip ($225). This intravenous infusion, designed to promote a restorative sleep, is administered by a registered nurse in collaboration with Olga Ivanov, M.D. It includes B complex vitamins and minerals, such as magnesium, selenium, and zinc. According to Ivanov, a cancer surgeon who has been treating patients with IV Vitamin Therapy since 2015, the powerful combination of vitamins and minerals optimizes the body’s natural hormone balance, including the sleep hormone melatonin, to encourage a deep and restful sleep. Other sleep enhancements include a Relax Vitality Shot ($50), a Cymbiotika Rumi Herbal Sleep Tonic ($60), and a Nite Nite Patch ($15).
On World Sleep Day, couples staying at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando can take advantage of the Spa Sweet Dreams package ($2,000 per couple), which includes private after-hours access to the spa, where they can enjoy access to the steam room, whirlpool, experience shower, and lounge area. The package also includes a Relax Vitality Shot, the Sleep Ritual Massage in a side-by-side couples suite, and prosecco or tea service for two in the spa’s private whirlpool. Regardless how you plan to celebrate World Sleep Day, it’s important to prioritize sleep all the other 364 days, or rather nights, of the year.