Iconic Concierge Fall 2022

for me, as I notoriously hate sleeping
with earplugs in. However, these noisecancelling
ear plugs not only reduced the
ambient noise, which any of you living
in downtown Vancouver apartments will
attest to but were so comfortable that I
often had to check they were still there.
[QuietOn.com]
TEMPERATURE REGULATION
Cozy Earth: Linen Bedding, made from
70% viscose from bamboo and 30% linen
were, quite simply, the most impressive
of all the impressive products I trialled.
The pillowcases and sheets were so cool
and breathable to the extent I haven’t
overheated once since I put them on
my bed, despite this trial starting in the
heat of the summer. They are wonderful
and I just wish I had more than one set!!!
[CozyEarth.com]
Rest: Cooling Comforter is made using
a remarkable material called Evercool TM ,
that feels cool to the touch and wicks
moisture away from the body. No more
sweating under blankets or duvets, this is
a fantastic lightweight cover that certainly
helped me stay cool throughout the night.
[RestDuvet.com]
BLACKROLL: Ultralite Blanket is another
comforter that deserves a mention. It’s
made from Celliant®, which regulates the
body temperature and transforms body
heat into full-spectrum infrared energy.
This improves the quality of
sleep and promotes muscle
recovery during sleep. I
didn’t overheat with it and
as a bonus, it packs into a
well-designed carry bag
that makes it small enough
to travel with. [BLACKROLL.
com]
GhostBed: Faux Down Pillow
is a very comfortable pillow
that matches the comfort of
my more traditional downfilled
pillows but has a microfibre gel fill
that makes it breathable and stopped
my head getting hot. It’s also allergen
and dust-mite free, which for someone
that can get quite congested with certain
pillows, was a big relief. [GhostBed.ca]
Dagsmejan: NattcoolTM Sleep Wear, was
another surprise for me. Without aiming to
share too much information, I have always
slept naked to prevent overheating.
However, the NattcoolTM material is
8x more breathable than cotton and
transports moisture away from the body
3x more effectively. It conformed to my
body, and I didn’t get tangled up or feel
restricted in any of the items, t-shirts or
shorts. Habit-changer. [Dagsmejan.com]
POSTURAL SUPPORT
Brooklyn Bedding: Spartan Mattress
has won awards for mattresses most
suited to athletes, and I can see why. I’ve
been reticent to leave my coil-springed
mattress behind in favour of the foam
mattresses out there and I was hesitant
to trial this, but I needn’t have worried.
It’s described as a hybrid mattress, so it
does have zoned coils, providing enough
lumbar support but there are also 2 layers
of memory foam that give additional
contouring. The reason it has won the
awards is that it incorporates Far Infrared
Ray (FIR) technology into the cover,
which draws heat away from the body,
before converting it to infrared energy
and reflecting it back to improve blood
flow, aid muscle recovery and promote
a more restful sleep. I was concerned
this would cause me to overheat but an
additional cool tech panel helps maintain
the ideal sleep skin temperature of 88°F.
[BrooklynBedding.com]
BLACKROLL: Recovery Pillow is yet
another example of exemplary German
design, that focusses on simple design
innovation as opposed to fancy
technology to create incredible products,
that at first don’t look all that remarkable.
My first impression was that the pillow
was too small and that my head would
fall off in the night. My second impression
was coloured by my negative experience
of other memory foam pillows which have
each given me neck ache. The design
incorporates different contours and
heights into a breathable memory foam,
so the pillow works for back, front and side
sleepers alike. The foam is supportive,
doesn’t over-heat and ensures the size
is big enough for a comfortable night’s
sleep, whilst being small enough to roll
up into its travel case to take on the plane.
I’m so impressed with this company!!
[BLACKROLL.com]
ON WAKING
AYO: AYO is the world’s first circadian
health wearable, which uses LEDs emitting
blue light, mounted in a spectacle top
frame. The device can be worn for a
short session in the morning to help
the align the brain’s biological clock, by
stimulating the light-responsive cells and
boosting wakefulness, mood, immune
and metabolism. Whilst I wouldn’t wear
them in public, these are easy to use and
certainly helped boost my energy levels
first thing. [GoAyo.com]
BrainLuxury: GAMMA, a more recently
released product than DELTA, has
been developed to support brain
neuroplasticity and focus. Like DELTA,
GAMMA has a citrus base and is packaged
in a test-tube style container, that requires
refrigeration. I really liked this and did
feel it helped my morning productivity,
which can be a little sluggish some days.
[BrainLuxury.com]
REVIEWING & MONITORING SLEEP
One of the most competitive areas in the
sleep technology sector is the monitoring
of sleep, which is understandable because
without understanding the current quality
of your sleep, it is hard to know whether
you need to do much to improve it.
Additionally, if you can’t evaluate changes
in response to interventions, how do
you know if your efforts are being well
directed?
Unfortunately, it’s also one of the
most controversial areas of the sector.
Lab best tests are, not surprisingly,
the gold standard and the variability
between the products on the market
is significant. This is because there are
different methods of collecting data,
each with their own strengths and
weaknesses, whilst each company has
its own proprietary algorithms to analyse
and interpret the data. Thus, the strength
of the sleep evaluation and subsequent
recommendations depend on the quality,
validity, and reliability of the raw data
and how appropriate the algorithms that
interrogates that data are.
Withings: Sleep Tracking Mat, slips
underneath your mattress at chest level,
and uses advance sensor technology to
monitor your sleep cycle, heart rate, and
any snoring. You get an arbitrary sleep
score in the morning, which reflects
how long you slept, how long it took
80 ICONIC CONCIERGE