There are plenty of wellness products that would love to get Gwyneth Paltrow’s seal of approval. In fact, Paltrow’s stamp is the foundation of her successful lifestyle brand Goop, where she shares a curated collection of her top picks ranging from beauty and fashion to sex and fitness. Everything Paltrow touches turns into wellness gold—or, at the very least, a buzzy headline (vagina candles, anyone?)—so it makes sense that Westin Hotels & Resorts teamed up with Goop to discuss one of the most important wellness pillars: sleep.
In a three part video series, Sleep Training for Grown-Ups, Paltrow chats with sleep physician and research scientist Dr. Cheri D. Mah, MD to raise awareness around getting a good night’s rest and how to enhance the sleep experience. A longtime fixture on Goop’s website, sleep is something Paltrow has been passionate about for years.
“Sleep is important on so many levels and obviously for immune function and all of the systems of your body and cell repair and cognition and everything,” she tells Glamour. “So over the past decade, it’s an area that I’ve been really interested in and gotten obsessed with, with my Oura ring, probably unhealthily so.”
More important, Paltrow recognizes that sleep is one of the most accessible ways to practice wellness—Oura ring or not. “I do think that good sleep impacts us so positively and bad sleep impacts us so negatively and it’s an interesting area to talk about,” she says. “We all do it, we all know how to sleep.”
Ahead, Gwyneth Paltrow takes us through her nighttime routine and shares her sleep essentials, including the perfect pajamas, sleep dos and don’ts, and why she’s trying to convince everyone to wear mouth tape.
Glamour: Are there any takeaways from Sleep Training for Grown-Ups that you’ve implemented in your own routine?
Gwyneth Paltrow: As part of this collaboration, I was able to interview this amazing sleep scientist; I think I’ve always had pretty good sleep hygiene, but I always used to take a bath right before bed, and she said actually it’s better to do that not right before. You shouldn’t raise your body temperature a whole ton right before you get in bed. The other thing I learned from her that I didn’t know is that you can actually catch up on sleep. I thought that was a myth. I always heard, like, “Oh, if you lose a night’s sleep, then it’s gone.” But it’s actually not true. If you try to go to bed earlier for a few nights, you can put the sleep back in the bank.
What are the essential products in your nighttime routine?
Oura ring, eye mask, earplugs. I’m a big proponent of VIO2 mouth tape, which I’ve gotten into in the past couple of years. And then, I really, the aforementioned bath, I love with essential oils. I love the evening ritual of starting to off-ramp out of the day and into bed.
VIO2 Mouth Tape
Goop
Amazon
Oura Ring
Oura
Can we get into the mouth tape? I’ve been seeing it everywhere but haven’t tried it. Do I need it in my life?
My heart rate variability and sleep scores are so much better when I do the mouth tape, because we’re actually designed to breathe through our nose for a number of reasons. You filter your air better that way. You produce more nitric oxide when you breathe through your nose, so that that helps dilate all of the blood vessels. Sometimes, if people snore or wake up a lot or they have a dry mouth—things that can impact sleep—mouth tape can protect against prophylactically, so there’s better oxygen exchange. It does make sleep more restful. It’s really interesting. I’m a big proponent of it. I would love for you to try and tell me what you think, just because I’ve gotten so many people on mouth tape.
You’re going to convert me on mouth tape. I feel like I need to try it now.
You should try it. It takes a couple of nights to get used to it. When I first started, I unconsciously peeled it off in the middle of the night a couple times. It took me a minute, and now I can’t sleep without it.
Do you believe in a late-night snack?
I personally don’t because I try to not eat for 12 hours after dinner until breakfast. It’s not really an intermittent fast, because you’re sleeping for most of it, but I at least try to let my digestive system rest for 12 hours, so no snacks.
What about a good beverage before bed?
Tea, absolutely, just nothing with milk or honey in it because I just want the zero calorie so that my body doesn’t kick back into the digestion process. But, I love a hot tea at night.
Are you a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper?
Heavy. Very heavy.
Do you sleep on your back, side, or something else?
I sleep on my side and front, like three hours. Ever since I had my kids, I started sleeping with a pillow underneath my leg when I was pregnant, and I never stopped. So it’s somewhere between on my stomach and on my side.
What makes the perfect pajama?
Light, breathable, 100% cotton. I love a brand called Lunya. It’s a really comfortable sleep wear. There’s a brand in Rome called Schostal, they’re my favorite classic pajamas. They’re beautiful, 100% cotton. I really like Sleepy Jones as well. I’m a big pajama girl. I love pajamas. Desmond and Dempsey is also another really cute brand.
Other than sleeping, what are the other ways you like to recharge and take a moment for yourself?
My husband and I, since we moved up to Santa Barbara, oftentimes we will finish work from home and when we’re here we’ll go take an evening walk on the beach, which is so nice to clear the head and just get some fresh air and feel connected to nature. That’s my new evening wind down, and also my bath. I love taking a bath.
Ariana Yaptangco is the senior beauty editor at Glamour.
The post Gwyneth Paltrow Is All for Sleeping With Mouth Tape appeared first on Glamour.
