Review – Tackle Your Longstanding Sleep Issues With a Sleep Retreat at Ockenden Manor

Clinical psychologist and co-founder of the Good Sleep Clinic, Dr Maja Schaedel, leads an in-depth retreat aimed at helping you achieve a good night’s rest.

The morning I arrive at Ockenden Manor, a restored Elizabethan manor house located in the pretty Sussex village of Cuckfield, I’m not firing on all cylinders. The night before, I woke up at 3am, and couldn’t get back to sleep for at least an hour, a pattern which has been ongoing in my life for several months. I’ve come to attend Ockenden’s inaugural sleep retreat, run by Dr Maja Schaedel, a clinical psychologist who specialises in sleep issues and works in both the private and NHS sectors. A few years ago, she founded the Good Sleep Clinic with her sister Zoe, a GP, to tackle a range of sleep problems, including insomnia, trauma-related difficulties, anxiety and the menopause, using a range of evidence-based psychological models.

Sleep is certainly a hot topic at the moment; lack of good sleep has been linked to an increase in health problems, from obesity to dementia, cardiovascular disease and even cancer. And while there has been a growing trend for UK hotels to offer what they refer to as ‘sleep packages’ or ‘sleep programmes’, this rarely translates to much more than blackout blinds, a pillow menu, lavender oil sprays or a relaxing massage – things which are, as Dr Maja agrees, are all absolutely lovely, and conducive to winding down and switching off before bed, but which have no real clinical effect.

In the cosy surrounds of a dark wood-panelled private meeting room, complete with original stained glass windows and vintage oil paintings, the retreat starts with a two-hour introductory workshop with Dr Maja, who begins by explaining that she was prompted to devise a sleep retreat because of gaps she’d noticed in the market. ‘People want to go somewhere and solve their sleep problem,’ she says, ‘and in certain cases they’re paying a lot of money to have a nice, relaxing experience, but where they’re not necessarily getting the tools they need to deal with their issues. Also, a lot of what is being offered as sleep retreats don’t focus on activities, which is one of the quickest ways to help improve sleep. I am not part of the wellness world,’ she emphasises; ‘my goal is helping people get to sleep and stay asleep.’

There are four women on this retreat, including me, of all ages spanning 30s, 40s and 50s. We all have different reasons for being here, and different sleep issues, which will be tackled individually in a forthcoming one on one session with Dr Maja. For now, the morning workshop covers the basics: firstly, she outlines how sleep can be affected by psychological difficulties, such as insomnia, and by physical difficulties, such as sleep apnoea, restless leg syndrome or parasomnia (sleepwalking). She goes on to cover topics including circadian rhythms (whether you’re more of a lark or a night owl), sleep cycles (these typically last 90 minutes each), barriers to sleep (such as caffeine, alcohol, stress or anxiety), and the health implications of not getting enough sleep. The workshop is interactive, with questions and discussion encouraged – we cover everything from the benefits of napping to using CBD – and Dr Maja’s manner is vastly empathetic and reassuring. She says, for example, that it’s perfectly normal for people to wake during the night – the aim, of course, is to fall back asleep – and that the best way to relieve the pressure on ourselves about not getting enough sleep is simply to put it away from the forefront of our minds. She also offers a series of tips and strategies that can help improve our sleep, from waking up at the same time every day, to not using a sleep tracker, only going to bed when we are genuinely sleepy, and incorporating at least twenty minutes’ exercise into every day, even if it’s just going for a walk.

After lunch, that’s exactly what our group does, heading out on a guided hike around some of the beautiful South Downs, which are essentially in Ockenden Manor’s backyard. Then we’re free to use the hotel’s spa facilities, which include an indoor/outdoor pool, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. Each of us also undergoes a 30 minute session in an i-sopod flotation tank; the science behind this has it that the sensory deprivation within this tank filled with warm, Epsom-salt enriched water lulls you into a meditative state which rejuvenates the mind and body. On the first evening, we have an hour long session of restorative yoga before dinner, and the following morning we have an upbeat, lively circuit training class.

For me, the most important part of the retreat is my private session with Dr Maja. Prior to this, I fill in a sleep diary and questionnaire, and when we meet up, we go through this, as well as looking at things such as my current sleep habits, whether these have changed for any particular reason lately, and if there are any stresses or difficulties which could impact on my sleep. It feels overall like a relaxed, therapeutic chat, with Dr Maja identifying several things which could be causing me to bolt awake every night, from a very turbulent last twelve months in my professional life, to the fact that due to my age, I am likely to be undergoing menopause. She talks me through a number of causes and also solutions; the biggest takeaway for me being that I must leave my phone outside my bedroom at night. I am guilty of reaching for it within moments of waking up in the middle of the night, which just delays the prospect of falling back asleep. (Dr Maja also subsequently emails her advice, which acts like a tailored prescription).

The last group session of the retreat is a guided breathwork class, where Dr Maja takes us through different exercises, such as mindful breathing and diaphragmatic breathing, which will help us relax into sleep by shifting our focus from the cognitive to the physiological. Ultimately, the combination of understanding how sleep works, learning coping strategies for when we find it tricky, the sessions of activity and the scope for relaxation add up to something I find very useful and helpful. On both nights here, I wake up in the night as I usually do – but on these occasions I don’t check my phone to see the time, as it’s charging over on the other side of the room, and I manage to fall back asleep within 15 minutes or so.

The pampering aspects of the retreat are another plus; my room, a Junior Suite in the standalone spa building – a blocky, rust-red structure which sits within the ruins of a 19th century walled garden – is spacious and comfortable. There’s a walk-in shower, deep tub, bed with handmade Vispring mattress, and access to a spacious terrace with sweeping views out over the Downs. Lunch and dinner are taken in the restaurant in the main manor house, where the chef oversees a range of well-thought out dishes using fresh, locally-sourced produce. One evening I have truffled celeriac soup and roast cod in a creamy mustard sauce; on the other, I try pheasant croquettes followed by pork loin with seasonal greens. There is also a lovely sense of supportiveness and camaraderie within our group, as we compare bad sleep horror stories and discuss each morning how we slept the night before. All in all, this retreat feels like a thorough exploration of what can, these days, be even more elusive than tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour; and I leave feeling more optimistic about my capacity to fall, and stay, asleep.

Ockenden Manor’s Good Sleep Retreat starts from £999 for single occupancy on a b&b basis, including two nights’ accommodation in a Junior Spa Suite, two light lunches and two three-course dinners, with access access to the spa until 2pm on day of departure.

Future retreat dates: 4-6 March; 23-25 October; and 27-29 November 2024.