The Best Products For A Sound Snooze, According To A Sleep Doctor

We're obsessed with sleep, and never more so than right now: how much we get, the quality of it, how it affects our day... The majority of us would stay nestled in a warm, comfy duvet if we could. And yet our obsession doesn't seem to result in better sleep satisfaction. How ironic.

A recent Sleep Census by Twinings found that half of us aren't getting enough sleep, being kept awake by stresses and worries; a quarter is only getting five hours or less. Also: smartphones are a major culprit, unsurprisingly.

Plenty of places are making big bucks out of this worry about sleep. "Sleep hygiene" (the environment we create for ourselves to sleep in) has never been more closely scrutinised. Look at the rise in trendy affordable mattresses, for instance; advert slots on our favourite podcasts for the likes of Emma Sleep and Squarespace. Go back ten years and imagine, if you will, a world in which pillows were being marketed to twenty-somethings. In fact, the global sleep industry is currently estimated to be worth 585 billion dollars by 2024. See what I mean? We're OBSESSED.

"I believe a good sleep accessory can be a great addition to any sleep routine," physician and certified sleep specialist (and Hatch's very own sleep expert) Dr Angela Holliday-Bell, MD tells Refinery29. "Just as bedtimes should be kept consistent, the bedtime routine should be consistent as well. [It] helps your mind to connect the routine with sleep, making it easier to fall asleep."

But, the questions on the tip of our tongue: do products really help with sleep? Aside from trial and error, how's one to suss out the real-deal sleep saviours? We looked to sleep experts to find the most interesting, innovative and effective products out there.