Former ‘insomniac’ and I Quit Sugar founder Sarah Wilson has revealed how she revolutionised her sleep – and the three products that mean she can now get between seven and eight hours of shut-eye per night.
The globally-acclaimed author from Sydney, 45, said she has been an insomniac since she was seven years old, but several things have helped her immeasurably.
‘I tried each of these for three months each, independent of the other two and other aids, so I could determine if they worked,’ Sarah wrote on her website.
So what does she swear by?
Former ‘insomniac’ Sarah Wilson (pictured) revealed how she revolutionised her sleep – and the three products that mean she can now get eight hours of shut-eye per night
Sarah (pictured) said she tried each of the items independently for three months to ensure that each was working before she recommended it
1. A gravity blanket
Sarah tried a Neptune blanket, which costs $192 and is TGA-approved as a medical device and said the effects were ‘immediate’
You might have heard people who struggle with sleep speak about weighted blankets, which are constructed with dozens of pockets filled with glass beads that amount to ‘about 10 per cent of your body weight’.
The idea is that the heaviness helps to ‘relax’ your central nervous system, and Sarah said a weighted blanket is somewhat like being held or hugged.
Sarah tried a Neptune blanket, which costs $192 and is TGA-approved as a medical device.
‘[The effect] was pretty immediate,’ Sarah said.
‘I get restless legs and the blanket dampens this completely.
‘It provides a feeling reminiscent of being “tucked in by your grandmother when you’re a kid” that sees me calm down a lot as I try to settle in to sleep.’
Sarah (pictured) said she has struggled with both insomnia and inflammation since she was just seven years old
The Scenar is a ‘hand-held device, the size of an old-school mobile, that you apply to your body to reduce pain and inflammation’
2. The Scenar
The second item Sarah loves for sleep is something you may not have heard of: the Scenar.
The Scenar is a ‘hand-held device, the size of an old-school mobile, that you apply to your body to reduce pain and inflammation’.
It works by sending an electric current through your body that helps to stimulate your body’s own healing capabilities.
Sarah said she finds it especially beneficial for inflammation and digestion issues – both of which often keep her awake.
She also uses it to calm herself down by applying it to her calves – which she said helps to settle her body’s nervous system.
Sarah said she now loves taking a squeeze or two of CBD oil with water daily for stress management
3. CBD oil
There has been a lot of information circulating around CBD oil, with many claiming it has helped to manage anxiety, pain and insomnia.
And Sarah said she believes the hype.
She recently tried Hemple’s organically grown, bioavailable CBD oil, which uses an extraction system that shrinks the CBD oil molecules, allowing them to pass easily through the cell wall and get to work fast
Sarah said she now loves taking a squeeze or two of the oil with water daily for stress management.
Sarah (pictured) revealed how she travels the world nomadically and lives with just eight kilos of luggage – she swears by carrying a slow cooker, a handheld blender and one ‘good knife’
Speaking previously to FEMAIL, Sarah revealed how she travels the world nomadically and lives with just eight kilograms of luggage.
‘I have boxes of photographs and old letters, a surf board and a bicycle in storage, but not much else,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Everything else I need I carry around with me.’
When Sarah is on the road, she carries an amalgam collection of items – including a slow cooker, a handheld blender, ‘one good knife’, a bikini, swimming goggles and her ‘trusty green shorts’.
‘They come everywhere with me,’ she said. ‘I wear them hiking and biking all over the world.’
Apart from this, the 45-year-old carries either a leather or a denim jacket (hers are ten years old) with her, grey singlets and ‘a pair of runners I can wear while out walking, but can also team with a dress’.
‘When I’m travelling, I walk or ride everywhere,’ she said. ‘I don’t own a car so don’t have that expense. It’s very freeing.’
When it comes to clothing, Sarah said she’s very particular about what she buys – she hardly ever shops, for instance:
‘I’m wearing the same dresses aged 43 as I was aged 18,’ she said.
‘It’s pretty simple. I don’t want to be defined by what I purchase.
‘It streamlines the mind to travel light. I don’t have to make any decisions in the morning, I just throw on whatever I need to wear.’