Netflix has partnered with the online meditation app Headspace and Vox Media Studios to release the documentary series Headspace Guide to Sleep on April 28. The seven-episode series will highlight the struggles faced by people suffering from sleep insomnia and will provide an educational guide to help viewers sleep better.
The series will be narrated by Headspace’s Director of Meditation Eve Lewis Prieto. The episodes provide tips and tricks from experienced professionals and educate viewers on the various determinants that contribute to one’s sleep cycle such as stress and anxiety. It will also answer some of the most vital questions around sleep – including the impact of using your phone at night on the amount of sleep individuals get.
Given the landscape of the Covid-19 pandemic, the release of Headspace Guide to Sleep could not have come at a better time: with lockdowns still in place globally, many individuals have suffered from heightened mental health issues and their resulting side effects, which includes sleep deprivation.
Moreover, Angela Drake – a Clinical Health Professor at the University of California, Davis – shared how work-from-home measures sparked by Covid lockdowns have made people more prone to sleep insomnia:
“Your brain is conditioned: you’re always at your workplace and working, and then at your home and you’re relaxing. There’s a differentiation there. Now, we’re all just home all the time. Initially, people tended to feel motivated to get through the stress [of the pandemic]. But as it continues over time, most people become less able to cope, resulting in greater problems, including insomnia”.
Headspace’s new documentary series not only helps viewers to sleep better but also raises awareness on the importance of focusing on one’s mental health and well-being during this difficult period in global history.