Beauty brands are embracing the ‘sleep as wellness’ trend

A good night’s sleep is synonymous with a satisfactory quality of life, but now beauty brands are tapping into the recent trend of quality sleep being a luxury.

In 2018 we’re seeing more products being marketed as sleep assisters – i.e. products to help you sleep faster or products to work exclusively while you sleep; and while some products – like night creams – aren’t new, many products are being repositioned to work inside the wellness space. 

Speaking with Glossy, Well+Good chief content officer Melisse Gelula said: “We’re seeing a generation of workday zombies, coasting on poor quality sleep.

“Sleep, and the lack of it, has become a huge wellness category, like food and fitness.” 

And Gelula isn’t lying, the worldwide sleep aid market is expected to reach roughly $US31 billion by 2025, according to a new study from Persistence Market Research. 

While it is easy to be cynical of ‘essential oils’ designed to help you drift off, and silk pillows designed to prevent wrinkles, YG Laboratories vice president of product development Irena James notes that there is science to back up most claims, telling Glossy: “Some companies might be quick to reposition their products as suitable for nighttime simply so they can jump on the trend bandwagon. But there can also be some legitimate science behind them.” 

For example, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to a trio that discovered how our cells operate differently during the day versus at night. “Our skin performs distinctly different functions during the day and night, and different ingredients can be beneficial or detrimental depending on when they are applied on the skin,” added James.

With the wellness industry booming, it makes sense for brands to look at sleep in conjunction with wellbeing and market products that manifest a better sleep.