Sleepy Sunday Newsletter
by 8hrS
Chapter 6 - June
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Selfcare Tip of the Month.
👆 We've talked about intent and only taking actions when it's actually meant for you in this newsletter a few times before. One simple question has helped us a lot in figuring out whether our intentions are aligned: if you could never talk about this to anyone - would you still do it? It serves as a type of litmus test to figure out whether this is something we're intending on doing because we actually want to, or because of how we believe it will be perceived by others. Try it for yourself.
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Sleep Tip of the Month
😴 It's getting hot. Which means, your Sleep might suffer. Your core body temperature needs to drop around 0.3°C for you to fall asleep, which is a lot harder if your surroundings are 25°C+. The ideal sleeping temperature is around 18°C. We realise not everyone has the luxury of an airconditioned room, hence a tip for those melting away under the sheets these days. Put your pillowcases and sheets in the fridge for 20 minutes before going to Sleep. It feels am-az-ing. Even better if you have Silk pillowcases because Silk is a naturally thermoregulating fabric. Do we need to say more...
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Media tips of the Month.
👂 Listen: Not really related to Sleep (by now it should be clear we're more of a holistic health community anyways), but Dr. Mindy Pelz was a guest on the DOAC podcast. She's most known for her fasting-information, but here she also touches onto a very interesting point: the female menstrual cycle and how it basically influences EVERYTHING. Listening to this made us realise that 99.9% of men and even most women know basically nothing about this natural phenomenon that takes over the female body. The effects on Sleep are also not to be ignored!
📚 Read: A very interesting read on mind-body connection and so much more is The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk. Prof. Van Der Kolk used to work in a Sleep lab, so he definitely has some interesting pointers on Sleep and it's impact as well.
👀 Watch: On this month's show... Octopus Costello having a vivid nightmare! This footage suggests that we're not the only animals that go through emotional rollercoasters during REM (Rapid Eye Movement or Dream stage) sleep cycle. It must be said that it's hard to actually come to any conclusions based on a 2 min. video and we might just be projecting human traits on an animal. But hey, it's pretty cool no?
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The Extraordinary Importance of Sleep.
We read a lot of studies to keep our Sleep and human health knowledge sharp - like... a lot. One of those papers that got us into Sleep research in the first place is titled 'The Extraordinary Importance of Sleep', dating back to 2018. Not only does it highlight the impact of Sleep on Attention, Cognition, Mood and Physical performance, it also goes deep into why the field of Sleep research has gotten more and more traction since 2005, even more so after a bunch of major public industrial disasters (f.e. Exxon Valdez Oil spill) were linked to humans operating on inadequate Sleep. More people die yearly from Sleep deprived driving than from DUIs. But even worse, people are paradoxically still sleeping on the impact: "[People] often are not aware of their accumulating sleep deficits or the toll that these deficits can take on their waking cognitive functions, including their performance, working memory, cognitive speed, and accuracy. Inadequate sleep also can take a toll on psychological well-being, significantly affecting our emotional and psychosocial interpretation of events and exacerbating our stress levels. Studies have indicated that changes in mood may be due in part to the effects of sleep deprivation on the processing of emotional memory—in other words, our tendency to select and remember negative memories after inadequate sleep."
Sleep has definitely gained some traction both in the research and public space. But there's still a long way to go. We'd like to finish up with what should be a public service announcement. In the words of Dr. Dinges (Phd): “Research has shown us that sleep is not an optional activity. There is no question that sleep is fundamentally conserved across species and across lifespans, and that any effort to eliminate it has been unsuccessful. We must plan our lives in the time domain with a serious consideration for sleep—planning when to sleep, ensuring that we get adequate sleep, and making sure that our sleep is not disturbed by disorders or diseases, whether or not they are sleep-related.”
Get your Sleep folks, it will improve every aspect of your life. Link to the full article, click here.
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8hrS June update: exciting meetings, rebranding and going dark.
It's. Really. Kicking. Off.
We are building things behind the scenes, bigger and better than ever. With intention, passion, transparency and our goal in mind: helping people be the best version of themselves day ànd night as these two things are inherently connected.
We wont lift too much of the vail just yet, but here's some teasers:
1) We are having some of the most important and exciting meetings in our 1.5 years existence. The type of meetings that can change it all.
2) We're creating and testing a product that we are extremely excited about. This is one of these things we have so much confidence in, because it is literally a game changer.
3) With all these changes, our brand and identity needs to keep up. We are rebranding to be bigger, bolder and more unapologetically ourselves. All the while keeping our mission at the core of everything we do.
4) We're going dark for a bit really soon, only to come back with a Sleepy vengeance.
Pardon our French, but stay f*cking tuned - buckle up for the ride.
15.10.2023
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Behind the scenes...
Last week, we organized photoshoot to snap some shots of our new Silk Pillowcase colorways & Silk eyemasks (stay tuned for launch date 👀). The picture at the top of this Newsletter is a small teaser of the amazing content to come. And while it all looks picture-perfect (certainly once edited), we also wanted to give an insight on how a shoot day actually looks from behind the scenes: it's a lot of running around with props; steaming everything from PJs to bedding and stabilizing our photographers. Not to mention the organization beforehand: reaching out to models and creatives, renting the studio, making the moodboards, timetables and shoot briefing etc.
But don't get us wrong, We live for these days and are beyond privileged to work together with such an all-star team of creators and creatives. 🖤
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A note from the Founder.
I've already mentioned it multiple times throughout these newsletters, but 8hrS is an ever-evolving project of human health and optimization with Sleep as the foundational base-layer.
On top of that baselayer there's movement, nutrition and mental stimulation (from meditation, any 'spiritual practice' to just tackling interesting problems or passions). Get these things in check and your life will feel possible and full of opportunities. Slack too much and it will feel burdensome and full of challenges.
But that's all individual. Then there's your people, your crew, your all-star team.
We're in the process of moving 8hrS into a new era, a new space and a new identity. This is beyond exciting as well as frightening. There's days where it feels like I have a split personality: one minute I'm excited, confident and ready to go and the next I'm thinking everything will go bottoms-up next week and I'll be left in the ruins. It's part of the journey of trying to build something, trying to convey and achieve a mission and it's... actually beautiful. Getting comfortable with the discomfort is one of the best skills to acquire.
But I do realise you can't do it alone. The people who surround you will be the deciding factor to where the pendulum swings: is it your inner optimist of doomsayer that will eventually get the upper hand. In the recent weeks I've come to realise again who my all-star team is. There's different levels to this of course, from genuine encouragement, inspiration to practical skill sharing - it all matters. You know who you are and if you're reading this: thanks, for real. We're all in this together, beyond excited for the ride.
Needless to say, there's always spots on the team for anyone with the right intentions in any shape, way or form. Likewise, more than open to give my support where I can if you'd ever need anyone on your team and you feel like I can contribute. I'll be your nr.1 fan if your intentions are right.
Mathias
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