Our Sleep Solution - The Serene Sleep Trio

The Sleep Trio is made, labelled and approved by all the necessary authorities, its listed on the UK and EU portals and we can now legally sell it to you (hurray). Sometimes I have a moan about all the time and costs involved in getting a product from my head to your hands but these are actually incredibly important checks and balances to ensure my competency and to keep you safe. So having flown through all the stages, we are ready to go, and I can tell you about why these are such precious products both singly and in combination.

I decided on a 3 phase ritual to create a good sleep habit. Making changes to sleep is incredibly difficult, it needs not just products but also a change in the way going to sleep is approached. When you have children, the wind down to bed is such an important part of the evening. It usually involves a bath, a soothing warm drink and a story. I am usually hopeless at routines, but I did this for all 5 of my children because it was soothing for them and actually for me too (I was often to be found sound asleep soon after the book was finished)

With this set of products I wanted to capture something of that feeling of winding down and taking the time to relax into sleep by creating a ritual where the products are powerfully effective at helping you to get to sleep but also stay asleep.

The first product is the Serene Sleep Soak, It is a blend of Epsom, Himalayan and Sea Salt. Epsom Salt is Magnesium sulphate and has been used for generations to promote muscle relaxation, reduce inflammation and reduce stress. Himalayan Salt also contains Magnesium along with a plethora of other minerals, it is not only pretty to look at but also wonderfully therapeutic. Sea Salt improves circulation and offers muscle pain relief. In this particular blend, I've also added essential oils of Lavender, Bitter Orange, Sweet Marjoram and Vetiver to ease tension, calm the mind and invite sleep. 

Not everyone wants a bath every night so we tested it as a foot soak and found it to be really effective. Of our 55 testers most really enjoyed the bathing element finding it a simple but useful evening step before going to bed. Some used the salts at the weekends when time was less of a pressure. The whole idea of this ritual is to find ways of using it so that it works for you, and is a relaxation, not an additional stress.

The second part is the Serene Sleep Ritual Cacao. I made this with the very best quality Ceremonial Cacao from Ecuador which is hand ground and minimally processed to retain all the therapeutic benefits. I really liked the idea of finding a Cacao where the producers work as we do, because then I could feel confident that the product would be as vital and effective as our own. It is eye-wateringly expensive but worth every penny. Really good Cacao contains natural Magnesium, Theobromine to calm the mind and Tryptophan to regulate sleep. 

To this I added 7 functional mushrooms, Reishi, Chaga, Shiitake, Maitake, Lion's Mane, Cordyceps and Tremella to centre, soothe and balance. Tremella is actually also brilliant for the skin, it is rich in polysaccharides, which help the skin retain moisture, supporting elasticity and hydration. 

Finally I added my favourite plant combination for relieving stress and anxiety - Roses, Chamomile and Milky Oat tops with a little Pink Pepper for an extra dose of calm.

Together these ingredients are fantastic, offering a nightly milky drink with great taste and really excellent therapeutic function and, given that there is no sugar in it, it's suitable for everyone. It's a proper, complex adult drink.

As an extra treat we asked our friends at SKIO pottery in Skye to make a special Cacao cup for us to sell alongside the Cacao to get the perfect serve and they made us a really lovely little cup. It will be on the website soon.

The final part of the ritual and arguably the most important is the Serene Sleep Cream. This was technically so hard to make because I wanted it to do so much. So many Sleep Balms are really one dimensional, the makers add Magnesium Chloride solution to oils and butters and hey presto - there's the product. Frequently the texture is heavy and over oily and the finished product can split really easily leaving a slightly grainy texture.

I definitely didn't want that. So I began to think about all the plants used in the European healing tradition to support sleep and all the reasons that sleep can be elusive or restless and decided to work with that. I also wanted to specifically support women during the Menopause whose sleep is so often disturbed (you can read an earlier blog post about that here )

The first and obvious contenders were the plants with a slightly sedative action - Hops and Chamomile topped the bill so I used those - Hop leaf and cone and Chamomile flowers both now flourishing in our greenhouse.

I also included Magnesium Chloride also to regulate GABA and Melatonin neurotransmitters, to ease tension in the mind, relax the muscles and create the best conditions for restful sleep. 

The next were the Homeopathic remedies which I'd used with patients over many years - Passionflower , Melatonin, Valerian Root, Oats, Zinc and Mag phos to soothe the nerves, regulate sleep patterns, relax the body, calm tension held in the muscles and reduce restlessness

Finally I chose essential oils that I knew were brilliant for anxiety, stress and which induced feelings of well-being - Vetiver, Sweet Marjoram, Vanilla, Bergamot and Blue Chamomile for a peaceful sleep.

To create a synergy with the Ritual Cacao drink, I used raw Cacao butter to make the cream alongside other oils so it has a beautiful light texture and a fleeting aroma of chocolate that works so well with the scent of the essential oils. The really good part is that it is a balm/cram hybrid so although it feels as if it's rapidly absorbed for a speedy effect, it is designed to linger on the skin in a very un-oily way so its absorptive action continues for some time.

The texture makes it extra useful because if you have painful muscles from overuse or a cramp, you can apply it where the pain is to help. I've had horrible sciatica so I mix it with the Flex & Extend Balm and apply it to my back just around the sacrum and have found it really helpful.

To say it has been a journey to make this, is the understatement of the year, but I am really thrilled with the result. It is a powerhouse of a product and beautiful to use. The trio in combination work like a dream but you can pick and mix them if on some nights you only feel drawn to using one or two. I'm so excited to see these products making their way out into the world, I hope they wish everyone who uses them a good night's sleep.

For June our offer, using the code JUNE25, there is a 10% discount on any of the individual Serene Sleep products or you can add it to the Serene Sleep Bundle for an extra discount on the set of all three products.