True Nightcap: Origin Story
In today's fast-paced world, I often feel like I am juggling countless responsibilities amidst a constant flow of demands for my attention. With my young and energetic twins growing up fast and a multi-hyphen career that keeps me on my toes, finding a tranquil moment in the day almost feels impossible. Not long after I returned to work after having my kids, I found winding down for a restful sleep at the end of the day became an elusive dream.
Poor sleep was something I, like many new parents, experienced in the early throws of motherhood. Little did I know it would continue as my kids got older. As my twins started sleeping through, the nights transformed into a battleground of tossing and turning, my mind replaying the events of the day and an orchestra of worries that refused to quiet down. The exhaustion that I felt after a busy day of juggling the demands of motherhood while manoeuvring through work deadlines seemed to evaporate the moment my head hit the pillow. I’d feel more awake than I had done all day. Hours turned into a blur of staring at the ceiling, listening to the subtle hum of the dark world outside and the deafening silence within my mind.
As an immunologist, I know that the importance of a good night's sleep cannot be overstated. The science is clear, poor sleep significantly compromises our health. A single night of poor sleep leaves us more susceptible to infections, causes difficulties in cognitive performance and mood, impairs our ability to exercise and recover and more. Over the long term, poor sleep is linked to a host of unwanted health issues including weight gain, poor cardiovascular health and accelerated ageing. But getting a good night’s sleep is about more than just the science, it’s about you. Knowing that my poor sleep was impacting my health only served to add to fuel the sleep-crushing cycle of anxiety.
With my scientist hat on, I tried every trick in the book – blue light blocking, meditation apps, rearranging my entire bedroom. Each intervention helped somewhat but the sleep I desired was still elusive. Frustrated and fatigued, in a cycle that seemed impossible to break. My days became a foggy dance of coffee sips and bleary-eyed moments, and I began to wonder if I would ever regain the serenity of a good night's sleep again. I’d love to say that there was one single lever I pulled to fix my sleep. Sleep hygiene became a necessary but not sufficient part of my journey. But it was during one particularly exasperating night that my mind wandered onto thinking about all the years before children that I had taken my sleep for granted. I considered how, as a culture, we place little value on not only sleep but rest in general. I knew I needed a more holistic approach to sleep, one that went beyond a clinical checklist of sleep hygiene. I had to intuitively reclaim the concept of rest in my new identity as a working mum of twins.
True Nightcap is where science intersects with a holistic approach steeped in ancient wisdom. It’s a dreamy nutrient-dense elixir designed with nutrients and botanicals to support our body's natural sleep processes. But for me it’s about more than just the nutrients; it’s about the whole sensory experience. Each sip offers a gentle zest of lemon and the comforting warmth of ginger soothing for my body but also my mind before bed. After I kiss my kids goodnight, sipping True Nightcap guides me from the chaos of the day into my own well-deserved rest ritual, paving the path to restorative sleep. True Nightcap has become the symbol at the heart of my own rest ritual.
I’ve come a long way on the journey to better sleep. As I reflect on the toughest times, I know that I might only be one stressful day away from a bad sleep. Letting go of the guilt I’d often feel at the end of the day and honouring the transition from day to evening with my own rest ritual has helped enormously. Modern life isn't on our side when it comes to sleep. However, we cannot escape that sleep truly is the foundation of our wellness and the place upon which all other well-being elements sit. The story of True Nightcap is one of my own personal journey to give sleep the recognition it deserves despite the conflicts of work and motherhood. I learnt the hard way that to survive in this bustling world, my body deserves good sleep, my mind craves good sleep but my soul will thank me for it.
