For a long time, weighted blankets were considered a specialist device. Now they’re popular with even the most normal sleepers. Growing up, Temple Grandin spent time on her aunt’s cattle ranch in America, watching cow after stressed cow enter a squeeze chute and come out calm as the dead sea. She wondered if the same … Read more
Simon Day shares some lessons from his first three months as a dad. When my twin boys were born on Boxing Day 2019, Corona was still just a beer. The first 12 weeks with our boys felt like a lifetime, and after seven weeks of lockdown, those first 12 weeks now feel like a lifetime … Read more
In the first part of a three-part series “What They Don’t Tell You”, Emily Writes looks back at the early days of her children’s lives and wishes she knew that no parent knows what they’re doing. I’m on the very cusp of leaving babyhood far behind me. My youngest child – my baby – turns … Read more
Following the multi-billion dollar success of Pokémon Go, Nintendo is intent on turning a profit from the most mysterious human experience of all: sleep. Last week Nintendo announced their intentions to gamify sleep, the last sacred, ad-free and private space we possess. The release read like a teaser for the new Black Mirror episodes: “In … Read more
It’s not the screen use that’s the problem, but the type of content we’re consuming right before sleep. In both Europe and the US, more than 90% of adolescents have their faces buried in screens before bed. Often, this comes at a cost to sleep. Frequent screen users are much more likely to report falling … Read more
To sleep or not to sleep? Madeleine Chapman stays overnight at Max Richter’s eight-hour show and realises how tired she is. This post was first published 17 March 2018. Being tired is a privilege that must be earned, and I earned it for the first time as a 23-year-old. I used to think being tired … Read more
Eight hours a night, every night, has become received wisdom – but how true is it? Alexandra Hansen of The Conversation decided to find out. Many of us try to live by the mantra eight hours of work, eight hours of leisure, eight hours of rest. Conventional wisdom has long told us we need eight … Read more
A new product from the upmarket US audio company promises to lull you to sleep. Toby Manhire takes them to bed. Fruit flies need it, homo sapiens need it, we all need it, even if scientists may not know all the reasons why we do. And the moments we know most of all that we … Read more
Sam Brooks is a devoted consumer of Let’s Plays – to the point where he uses them to sleep. He explains what it is about narrated playthroughs, and one kind in particular, that he loves so much. If you’ve been living in one of the many corners of the internet where people don’t watch other … Read more
As we drag ourselves through the final stretch of January, Don Rowe asks one sleep expert how can we get some desperately needed shut-eye. This post was first published in January 2018 Last night I dreamed I was back in high school, lacing up my boots to run out for the first XV in a … Read more
Health campaigner Te Miri Rangi looks at what we can learn from our ancestors about the ancient art of a good night’s rest. When it comes to adopting a healthy lifestyle, the first two things that we turn to are eating healthy kai and exercising more often. But there are a number of pillars that … Read more
Sleep. We all need it. We all want it. Spinoff Parents scientist Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw explains the science behind infant sleep, and what works and what doesn’t. Content warning: This post talks about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, also known as Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy. When our first baby was about eight weeks old I … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes hasn’t slept for a long time. If you’re as exhausted as she is, she has some tips for getting through. Having not slept for 800 years, I feel somewhat qualified to talk about survive severe sleep deprivation. For more than a year I (barely) survived on about three hours sleep, … Read more
Getting Your Shit Together is a monthly column on everyday mental health from Auckland mindfulness educator Kristina Cavit. This month she’s talking about the life-changing magic of getting enough sleep. When I don’t get a good night’s sleep, I can turn into a monster. Or at least the worst version of myself – a short … Read more