When I was at the Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat in Australia at the end of July, I was thrilled to see that they had planned a specialty “Sleep Discovery Week” for September. Gwinganna really impressed me in terms of how forward-thinking they are, and seeing this “sleep intensive” was another example. I asked Sharon Kolkka, the General Manager, to please let me know how the sleep week goes. Since sleep health was a spa trend SpaFinder predicted two years ago (before almost any spa had it as part of their curriculum) it has been especially gratifying for me to see sleep programs pop up at different spas across the country. This one in Australia, however, was one of the first full immersion sleep programs I have come across outside of the U.S.

Yesterday, I received this email from Sharon with her post Sleep Discovery Week report and wanted to share it with you. I think you will enjoy hearing it in her own words. My kudos to Sharon for blazing trails once again.

Dear Susie,

Just wanted to touch base with you regarding our sleep retreat, we loved it and so did our guests.

In a nut shell it was a huge success, we had 43 guests and one person from the media. It seems that about 1/3 came specifically for the sleep information and have never been to a retreat or spa previously, many of them brought a support person. About 10 guests came because that was the date that suited and the rest were return guests interested to see what they could learn about improving sleep.

The workshops covered the science of sleep, the body clock and the significance of the hormonal cycle as a result of this clock. The impact of the liver and detox on sleep, nutrient absorption and its relevance to sleep, what amino acids promoted sleep and in what foods they are found. The impact of light and dark on the hypothalamus, the effect of electromagnetic fields in the bedroom, the art of rituals and of course stress and the biochemistry of cortisol. We also covered the support systems such as herbs and aromatherapy and a lot more!

We encouraged guests to stop their sleeping tablets whilst staying with us and replaced this with a natural product and offered herbs for support, of course encouraged early rise and meditation. In short we had a ball and the feedback was sensational. We also asked them to continue to look for improvements over the next 3 months rather than expecting a quick fix.

This week, Tracy has received flowers from the media contact [for the first time] thanking her and a note suggesting she is sleeping better than she had in years. We have received many thank you notes, one of them from a husband who is demanding to know what we have done as his wife, is sound asleep by 10pm and stays that way and he has not seen her do that since the death of her father 2 years ago.

I know I don’t need to tell you how rewarding this is, this is what we in retreats truly live for to make a difference. So we have put two more Sleep Discovery programs on our dates from January to April and hope to offer this program at least 4-5 times a year.

Thank you for all the support that you offered with the information you supplied, wish you could have been here I think you would have enjoyed the vibe.

Warmest always

Sharon

Sharon Kolkka
General Manager
Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat

192 Syndicate Rd

Tallebudgera Valley Q 4228

Australia

Tel: +61 7 5589 5000

Fax: +61 7 55338378
www.gwinganna.com

**
If you wish to be put on a list that automatically sends my blog posts to your email, just let dulcy.gregory@spafinder.com know and she will add you to that list. Thanks so much!