Beauty Sleep treatments at Edmonton’s Studio J offer the perfect opportunity to have a quick recharge from life’s hectic pace. "No day is so bad that it can’t be fixed with a nap," says the comedian Carrie Snow.
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SLEEP-BOTH AS necessity and languorous pleasure-is criminally underrated. Health-conscious pilgrims who think nothing of heading to the Rockies for a weekend of yoga or to the Okanagan for a whole-food retreat are all-too-often happy to settle for an ancient mattress and sub-par sleeping arrangements. But a number of spas in the West are anxious to educate their clients-from the mere restless sleepers to full-blown insomniacs-in the restorative powers of some serious shut-eye.
The Quick Fix
Jillian Kaliel relocated her Studio J Urban Spa (10014 Jasper Ave., 780-425-6555, studiojurbanspa.com) to a heritage building on Jasper Avenue in Edmonton’s busy commercial district so she could target tired or over-stressed business types from the towers nearby. Its Beauty Sleep service provides the setting, with sleep-inducing features like low lights, gentle sounds and perfect bedding in which to catch a half-hour or hour of sleep-"just to reboot," Kaliel says. Think of it as a luxe version of the sleep pods that have been popping up in airports (like Vancouver’s YVR). To help bring on slumber, Kaliel recommends a scalp massage. $20 per 30 minutes for Beauty Sleep sessions; $20 for scalp or foot massage.
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The Recharge
"I’m one of those Type As who can’t turn off my mind," says Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia, president of the Vancouver-based Absolute Spa Group (877-684-2772, absolutespa.com). "I keep paper and pen by my bed so I can jot down ideas." From this personal experience, Lisogar-Cocchia has developed the Sleep Suite Treatment, designed to wind down the most frenetic of minds. It all begins with some deep inhalation of U.K.-developed Deep Relax aromatherapy. Suitably primed for sleep, you then get a neck, shoulder and scalp massage. With the help of a warming blanket, sleep usually ensues. $85 for 45 minutes at 11 Absolute Spa locations, including the domestic and international terminals at Vancouver International Airport.
The Next Level
The ultimate sleep inducer may be a rented villa at The Falls Golf Resort (866-794-3362, thefalls.com) near Chilliwack, B.C. If you really want to find out whether this place knows sleep, start with a "relaxing" 18 holes at the resort’s challenging mountainside golf course. Then retreat to a luxury two-bedroom villa, where the Japanese-inspired Nikken Advanced Sleep Technology system incorporates an adjustable bed with air chambers, anatomic foam and special bolsters designed to align and support the spine-as well as magnetic technology that replicates the earth’s magnetic field, keeping you in tune with nature. Air filtration and water purifications systems are other on-site wellness enhancers. Nearby Abbotsford Airport is served by Westjet and Air Canada. Villas range from $189 in winter to $389 in summer.
The Intervention
Sometimes one good night’s sleep won’t cut it. The end of insomnia is the goal of the six-night Sleep Again program at the Hills Health Ranch (800-668-2233, spabc.com), at 108 Mile House in B.C.’s tranquil Cariboo region. The program begins with a consultation with a sleep apnea expert and includes daily exercise (from guided afternoon hikes to water aerobics) and massages. The evening slows down with a little light therapy, in which sunlight is replicated to calming effect, and then moves on to yoga, meditation and calming visualization. Starting from $2,518. wl
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