Sleep, as we all know, is essential to health.
Not just our physical health but for our mental wellbeing too. Skipping shuteye on a routine basis is horrendous, making us feel tired (and reaching for sugar for a quick pick-me-up as a result), irritable and unfocused. Most folks need to get around seven to nine hours a night to feel properly rested, but this can differ from person to person and change as we age.
Fine-tuning your sleep environment so it's as comfortable as possible is essential for nodding off quickly: think a supportive mattress, climate-controlling bedding and PJs, and the right pillow for your sleep style.
But what about those empty hours when you're unconscious - can you multitask in your sleep? With the right products, you can finesse your skin and hair and learn more about your sleep habits, waking up looking and feeling better than ever.
Enter: sleepmaxxing. Born on - where else? - TikTok, sleepmaxxing is about optimising sleeping hours even while you're out for the count. It’s so popular the hashtag has amassed over 98m views on the social media platform. What does it involve exactly? Think using overnight hair masks and leave-in conditioners, silk pillowcases, sleep trackers, eye masks and more.
It's not just about beauty though. Sleepmaxxing is about getting the best, most restorative sleep you can. Aids like sleep supplements, pillow sprays, white noise machines, meditation and a hot bath can all put you on the path to getting high-quality, five-star zzzs.
If you're tired of feeling tired all the time, it's a wellness trend worth trying. To help, we've rounded up the best beauty and wellness products for sleepmaxxing.
Shop the list below
The Samsung Galaxy Ring
Not since Frodo’s Middle Earth quest has one ring been so hotly coveted. This too has special powers, forged in the metaphorical fires of Samsung’s innovation lab.
Say hello to the Galaxy Ring, the first of its kind from the South Korean tech giant. Wearables are getting in their stride, and designers have gone from strapping fitness monitoring devices on wrists in smartwatches to scaling them down even further in sensor-packed rings with designs virtually indistinguishable from traditional jewellery.
While it looks good with a gently curved concave look offered in gold, silver and onyx hues, it’s the internal wizardry that counts here. Samsung’s ring beams sleep quality, step count, mood and menstruation data to the Samsung Health app before serving AI-powered advice and insights to help you take targeted action or tweak poor behaviour.
It can even detect snoring, recording bursts of it overnight and allowing you to check if your nocturnal orchestral symphony is tipping over into something more serious, like sleep apnoea. In short, it’s a minuscule health, fitness and wellness coach at your fingertips.
The ring is far less cumbersome to wear than a smartwatch, has great battery life (expect up to seven days straight, with just 80 minutes to recharge fully) and looks cute in a ring stack.
The biggest coup of all? It does this all without a monthly subscription, unlike its competitors. My precious indeed.
Buy now £399.00, John Lewis
Dodow
With the rise in technology, our minds are continuously becoming overstimulated which, for many, means that falling asleep can become a challenge. However, Dodow, a gadget designed by insomniacs, can help you wind down before bed and claims to help you fall asleep in just eight minutes.
This small device is placed on a flat surface near a bed and is switched on by tapping the touch-sensitive surface. Dodow will then emit a blue light on the ceiling and you synchronise your breathing with it: breathing in when the light expands and out when it contracts.
Sessions can either be eight or 20 minutes in length and Dodow will automatically turn itself off at the end of the session.
Buy now £49.90, Amazon
The Morphée Sleep Aid
Best for: chic hi-tech
Nifty and compact, this natural beech device is sure to look sophisticated on your bedside table, and to leave space for other essentials such as a glass of water and a book.
To use, it couldn’t be simpler; you just need to turn the three little gold keys that sit on top and select your chosen theme, session and duration (anything from eight to twenty minutes).
Handily, there’s the option of listening to its settings with in-built speakers, or you can plug in headphones if you’re concerned about disturbing anyone. Being able to enjoy guided meditation sessions and body scans, without looking at a screen, is also a big advantage.
Buy now £80.00, Amazon
Muse 2 headband
Want to try out meditation but feel sceptical that it won’t actually have an impact? Well, the Muse 2 headband uses multiple sensors to provide real-time updates and feedback on your heart rate, breathing, brain activity and body movements while you’re meditating.
Not only does the Muse 2 track your activity, but it also guides you by using advanced signals to interpret your mental activity. This then translates into the sound it plays: a peaceful mind results in chirping birds whereas a less focused mind will lead to rain and thunder. After each session, you can assess your results and read the tailored feedback provided. The headband can also be worn at night and it can either track your sleep in silence or play responsive stories with sleep induction technology.
Buy now £239.00, Amazon
Headspace
Co-founded in 2010 by a former Buddhist monk to make meditation more accessible, Headspace is filled to the brim with brilliantly guided meditations of varying lengths. We’re big fans of their sleepcasts, which can be customised depending on your preferred ambiance-to-narration ratio.
Buy now, Headspace
Peep Club Hydrating Portable Humidifier
Best for: WFH desks
Optometrist Nicola Alexander-Cross is co-founder of Peep Club, a brand that aims to tackle the symptoms of dry eyes. “Although the cause is different (dry eyes is a medical condition, whereas hay fever is a reaction to pollen), these two types of eye irritation have a lot of similarities,” she says, “and our methods for soothing such irritations can crossover, too.”
The brand offers a host of remedies, from Instant Relief Eye Spray (£15) to reusable bamboo pads designed to clear eyelashes of cosmetics and skincare (£15).
The best product in its arsenal is the portable humidifier. Place it beside your desk or bedside table to rebalance moisture levels in dry air situations and you’ll soon see the results for yourself. With more moisture in the air, your eyes’ surface will be exposed to higher levels of hydration. It even works as you sleep! With no wires to trip over, it’s small enough to be stashed in your work bag and be used on in-office days too.
Buy now £55.00, Victoria Health
This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray 75ml
Smells can affect your mood, making you feel more relaxed and calmer; lavender has this effect. This pillow spray is clinically proven to help you fall asleep faster and wake feeling more refreshed with the aroma-therapeutic super-blend of lavender, vetivert and chamomile which soothes you to sleep.
Was £24
Buy now £18.98, Amazon
ESPA Silk Pillowcase
Best for: skincare obsessives
Rejuvenate your hair and skin with this pillowcase from luxury skin and wellness label ESPA. The brand specialises in products to help you create a spa-like experience in the comfort of your own home and as such, this pillow is soft and sumptuous. Crafted with quality at the forefront, it is made from 22 Momme that is breathable so you’ll wake up refreshed.
It also does not conduct static electricity, thereby protecting hair and ensuring that any creams that you use on your face are absorbed into your skin instead of the pillow.
Buy now £54.00, ESPA
Magicteam Sleep Sound White Noise Machine with 40 Natural Soothing Sounds
Best for: rain sounds
While we tend to lament the presence of rain, we can’t deny how relaxing the pitter-patter of droplets on our windows is when we’re tucked safely inside. If it doesn’t happen to be raining when you settle down to read, this brilliant white noise machine will certainly do the trick. Equipped with 40 naturally soothing sounds including waves, bonfires, crickets, rain and more, this handy little machine has both timed and continuous play settings.
Buy now £24.99, Amazon
Drowsy Sleep Co Silk Sleep Mask
The Drowsy Sleep Co puts comfort at the forefront to make sleepless nights a thing of the past. This mask has a calming cloud-like feel with super soft padding over the eyes that acts as total blackout to light pollution, while also muffling out sound. It is made from 22 momme pure mulberry silk - a fabric that is hypoallergenic, lightweight and breathable.
Buy now £69.00, Amazon
3'''More Inches LifeSaver Deep Sleep Overnight Hair Treatment
This brand makes its intentions clear from the get-go. 3'''More Inches wants to add length to your locks and it does so through its signature cashmere protein complex that is as luxe as it sounds. HydrobondRx, as it has been dubbed, is designed to work from roots to ends to provide the enviable shine that you’ve no doubt spotted on your Instagram feed. Making swishable, smooth and glossy locks a reality, it protects the hair shaft while rehydrating.
There is also the welcomed fragrance of Egyptian geranium and lavender to encourage you into a sound slumber, while also treating the strands to anti-bacterial properties, especially when it comes to the latter.
Buy now £11.00, Amazon
Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Deep-Conditioning Treatment
There’s a reason why Philip Kingsley Elasticizer is a cult and award-winning product that regularly features in ‘Best’ roundups - it just works. The formula dramatically improves damaged hair after just one application. It provides a wave of moisture to the hair cuticle with UV protection.
You will notice that your locks appear silkier and smoother with extra bounce. Before you jump into the shower, wet your hair and apply this treatment for 20-60 minutes then rinse off. Or better yet, leave overnight. Use once a week to maximise the results.
Buy now £75.00, lookfantastic
Tempur Ombracio Pillow
This strange-looking beast is from the original memory foam pioneers, ‘the only mattress and pillow officially recognised by Nasa for improving the quality of life’ no less. And we love this memory foam, which has a secret formula known by fewer than 10 people in the world.
It’s rather complicated, but basically, the ‘visco-elastic’ cells actively mould and adapt to your body. Unlike other foams, this can also be plumped up and shaped.
What you get is the perfect balance between squish and support, and the clever star shape means you can nuzzle your shoulder in and have support on each side to stop you from rolling back and forth.
It’s aimed at front sleepers as well as side sleepers, so if you wriggle on to your front, no problemo. For memory foam haters, this may just be your new love.
Buy now £199.00, Tempur
HUM Nutrition Mighty Night Overnight Renewal Supplement
In order to calm racing thoughts and help you wake up feeling refreshed, you may need to call in the big guns. HUM is already a powerhouse in the skin supplement space, so it will come as no surprise that the brand has ventured into sleep, particularly due to the effects a bad night’s sleep can have on your complexion.
An uninterrupted slumber encourages cell renewal, healing, and repair and protects your skin over time. For this reason, valerian root, hops and passionflower which are known for their natural sleep support are contained within the product. It’s also fortified with CoQ10 to boost the skin’s natural reparative properties and ceramides to encourage moisture retention.
The supplements themselves are triple tested to ensure potency and purity and two should be taken as you tuck in.
Buy now £35.83, iHerb
OTO CBD Sleep Drops - 1500mg CBD
CBD has been dubbed as a miracle ingredient and in oil form has been linked to benefits like preventing muscle soreness as well as aiding in sleep. This specially created formula from OTO should aid in your relaxation as part of your bedtime routine.
It has a soothing effect to put you to sleep and make sure you stay asleep throughout the night, ready and rearing to go in the morning. Alongside a high-quality form of the signature ingredient, there’s also soothing lavender, calming butterfly pea flower and antioxidant-rich fresh field mint - all of which are naturally derived to encourage a better balance of your sleep cycle. No drowsiness included.
Buy now £43.80, OTO
Yumi Nutrition 5HTP Bedtime Gummies
Yumi Nutrition’s 5HTP Bedtime Gummies were designed to help with insomnia and other sleep disorders. They’re also completely natural, bringing together all of the best ingredients to encourage a peaceful night’s sleep.
These gummies contain a potent dose of 5-HTP, which promotes the production of serotonin as well as Vitamin B6, which helps to regulate the nervous system and reduce feelings of anxiety and stress.
Buy now £13.49, Amazon
ESPA Fitness Bath Salts
After a particularly big gym sesh when your limbs are crying out for TLC, call on this relaxation vessel to heal you back to fighting form. The Fitness Bath Salts employ the blend of Deep Sea Magnesium and Dead Sea Salt to soak the muscles, placed alongside the benefits of arnica, comfrey, seaweed and kind-to-skin oatmeal. There’s eucalyptus for rejuvenation, clove bud for a warming sensation and lavender for its relaxation properties.
Buy now £23.10, ESPA
Neal’s Yard Remedies Lavender Bath Salts 350g
Sink into the warm water at your most Zen with these bath salts from Neal’s Yard Remedies that have lavender as the star component. The ingredient is known for its effect on the nervous system with its ability to calm anxiety, encourage sleep and reduce restlessness. Sign us up. The salts are also rich in minerals so it’s not just a therapeutic experience for the mind, but it has a nourishing effect on the body too.
Buy now £14.45, Neal’s Yard Remedies
Pukka Night Time Tea 20 Tea Bags
Pukka is a household name for a reason. The brand excels in its unusual but also always winning flavour combinations and this specialised Night Time tea is no different.
This caffeine-free tea combines the mild, delicate but distinctive taste of oat flower, lavender and lime flower. The soothing blend has zesty undertones and a hint of liquorice, and leaves you with a pleasantly drowsy feeling as you sip away.
The ingredients have been organically grown and ethically sourced, while the bag itself is free from any plastic.
Buy now £8.29, Amazon
SILKE Heatless Curler
If you’re anything like us, right now on your wrist is anywhere between 1 - 3 hair ties, ready for those moments when you need your hair out of your face. SILKE offers some of the best around, and now has brought its kind-to-strand signature to other tools. A claw grip and a heatless curler are all you need here to help achieve Hollywood-esque curls minus the heat.
Made from the same silky fabric as the hair ties, the tool is essentially one long, skinny foam sausage that you position on the centre front of your head (hair centre parted) and secure with the claw grip. Then working from the top-most sections, wrap a three-inch-wide section around the tool, pulling away from your face so that the roots are pulled up - this is what will give you the volume you’re looking for. Work in sections along one side from the top of your head to your temples, around the ears and finally the back of the neck, securing it all at the end with the hair tie, then repeat on the other side.
SILKE recommends using the tool with damp hair and sleeping in it, which, as side-sleepers, we found challenging. Luckily the tool will give you the desired effect if you wear it for three to four hours (or as long as it takes for your hair to completely air dry). This makes it an option if you want to try heatless for an afternoon or evening event.
The benefits are obvious: zero heat damage and bouncy curls to die for. Add a styling creme, mousse or a few drops of hair oil to your damp locks before wrapping them around the hair tool for a more polished result.
Available in black or pink.
Buy now £42.00, Sephora
Bed Head by TiGI Make It Last Leave In Hair Conditioner 200ml
Bed Head is always on our agenda thanks to the brand’s army of nourishing products. This leave-in conditioner is a multi-tasking hero specially designed for coloured hair. Not only does it offer protection for your freshly dyed locks, but it also strengthens and soothes damaged strands when it’s been subject to bleaching.
The no-rinse formula is enriched with moisturising agents that enhance vibrancy and shine. With the freshest guarana scent, the delectable conditioner can be used on both damp or dry hair and left overnight for the best results.
Buy now £11.29, lookfantastic
Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream
This is a retinol with cult following and there’s good reason for that. The hyped range lives up to its name with a product that packs a punch containing a winning combination of retinol at a one per cent concentration.
Combined with nourishing passionfruit, apricot, kale and winter cherry extracts – which are packed with antioxidants, and moisturising properties and will protect against environmental stressors. The product also contains peptides that work in tandem with the retinol to offer added elasticity through a boost in collagen production.
While it is an effective product for minimising the appearance of fine lines and dark spots as well as revitalising your skin, it has a potent formulation that can irritate and lead to peeling if you over apply or apply too often.
You should use a pea-sized amount on clean, dry skin and begin the treatment but use it twice a week, working up to every other night and then every night for the seasoned retinol users.
As with the entire Drunk Elephant range, the product is free from drying alcohols, silicones, chemical screens, fragrances or dyes and SLS.
Buy now £26.00, Cult Beauty
Medik8 Crystal Retinal 6
A favourite amongst beauty editors and aesthetic doctors when it’s time to make an intensive leap forward from entry-level retinoids. Crystal Retinal 6 is the mid-point of Medik8’s five-strong collection that ranges in strength from gentle to ultra.
With a satin texture and apricot tint, this light cream features time-released retinaldehyde, meaning it’s as gentle on the skin as retinol but packs a similar punch to prescription-strength retinoic acid. It’s antibacterial too, so ideal for tackling breakouts.
Absorbing quickly with a slightly cooling feel, it is said to deliver results eleven times faster than classic forms of retinal, so phase it into your routine gently.
Buy now £69.00, Medik8
