Hotel Leverages Neuroscience for Ultimate Sleep Experience
Published 28 July 2025
Aiming to provide an all-encompassing, research-backed offering for the still-burgeoning sleep tourism market, luxury wellness hotel Equinox in New York has unveiled a new Sleep Lab experience in collaboration with British neuroscientist Matthew Walker. The experience presents a sleep environment where every detail is aligned with each guest’s individual circadian rhythm to optimise sleep performance and recovery.
The Sleep Lab includes amenities like Personalised Sleep + Wake Automation – adjusting lighting, temperature and sound to guests’ chosen sleep and waking times. The conditions in the room gradually shift from states optimised for sleep to ones that encourage wakefulness. Those staying at the Lab will also benefit from adaptive mattress technology, which personalises temperature control, including for couples, thanks to its dual-zone settings.
Guests are encouraged to perform morning and evening rituals, starting their day with guided breathwork to soundscapes designed to increase circulation and promote alertness and finishing with a calm-inducing version. In the evening, Circadian Colour Meditation uses a pulsing red glow on a screen during breathwork for passive rhythmic entrainment to slow the heart rate and breathing.
Contrast therapy showers, where steam and ice are employed in tandem, work to energise the user in the morning and prepare them for sleep at night. In-room dining is also timed to guests’ circadian needs.
During the experience, guests receive a sleep kit with a high-performance sleep mask, magnesium sleep patch, Equinox Power Down Tea and earplugs. Throughout their stay, their sleep is tracked, enabling them to view their sleep stages and quality each morning from a bedside device and participate in Walker-led sleep studies.
For a more budget-friendly option focused on sleep, see Japanese capsule hotel Nine Hours. In 2024, it introduced microphones, cameras and body sensors for sleep tracking, allowing guests to access free sleep analysis if they agree for the data to be used in studies.
Meanwhile, for travel and hospitality offerings designed to combat jet lag, see Wellness Travel Trends: 25/26. And for the latest sleep, stress and brain-function supplements, read Health Ingredients Trends: Vitafoods 2025.