ATLANTA—A
global study commissioned by IHG
Hotels & Resorts
has revealed that a lack of sleep is a primary concern for travelers,
with four
in five (80 percent) stating they have trouble sleeping when traveling
away from home.
The launch of the findings coincided with World
Sleep Day, an annual day devoted to tackling important sleep issues. The
findings from the survey revealed:
The business traveler loses around 58
minutes of sleep each night when staying away from home, averaging just 5 hours and 17 minutes of sleep. The biggest
causes of a restless night’s sleep for those traveling are: different environment
(44 percent); unfamiliar noises (35 percent); and working late (35 percent).
Dr. Steven W. Lockley, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School,
and advisor to Healthe said: “It’s no secret that traveling can be
challenging for our health, particularly when it comes to maintaining our
normal sleep patterns. Light is the major environmental time cue that resets
the circadian clock in our brains each day, which is easily thrown off when
traveling.”
IHG Piloting Mobile Task Light
Over two-thirds (67 percent) of
those surveyed stated they feel more tired when they are away from home. To aid
sleep, nearly a half either try listening to music (47 percent) or watching TV (45 percent) to try and fall asleep. To help travelers combat a
restless night away from home, IHG has piloted the use of portable and
versatile JOURNI
Mobile Task Light.
Developed by Healthe
by Lighting Science, a
global leader in innovative LED lighting solutions, the portable LED task light
is designed to help regulate sleep when traveling.
Dr. Lockley continues: “Light
can also be a stimulant, directly alerting the brain, or promote sleep before
bedtime, depending on the spectrum and intensity of light exposure. Having
greater control of light exposure when traveling can help promote sleep at the
right time or wake at the right time, preserving some sense of sleep normalcy
when on the road.”
Brian McGuiness, IHG’s Senior Vice
President of Global Guest Experience said: “With so many travelers
experiencing sleep disruptions when they’re on the road, we want to do
everything possible to make sure our guests at any one of our 14 IHG Hotels
& Resorts brands, including Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and EVEN Hotels, have
a restful sleep while staying with us. We’re excited to be the first hotel
company to pilot this technology that uses LED lighting to improve guest sleep,
and it’s just one of the many programs we’ve introduced over the years to
improve guest experience, such as our Crowne Plaza Sleep Advantage program with
premium bedding and aromatherapy kits and our Holiday Inn pillow menu.”
Crowne
Plaza Atlanta Airport will be the first IHG Hotels & Resorts
property to install the JOURNI
Mobile Task Light as
part of this pilot project. Guests can easily adjust the light from the
blue-enriched white spectrum of Healthe’s patented GoodDay technology used to
boost energy and performance when awake, to the blue-depleted spectrum of the
GoodNight technology for use in the evening in preparation for bedtime, to
promote a more restful night’s sleep.
