I struggle to sleep for a number of reasons, ranging from everyday stress to chronic pain and sensory issues. I find it challenging getting to sleep, staying asleep, and rarely feel refreshed when my alarm goes off.
If I’ve found myself tossing and turning in the night, I find myself with further back pain, more stress, and therefore in a vicious cycle of sleeplessness. Over the years, I have tried various techniques and gadgets to aid me in my slumber, and found that some work much better than others.
For example, I can’t sleep without my weighted blanket , and have often enjoyed using the Ahead of World Sleep Day, which is today (March 18), I’ve been trying out a digital-free gadget that’s an absolute must-have for the bedroom.
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The Morphee is a meditation and relaxation box designed to use sophrology – a type of relaxation therapy – to aid sleep and ease insomnia and sleep disorders. It’s priced at £79.95, which is very much an investment, but I really don’t think you can put a price on a good night’s sleep when you suffer with your nightly routine.
Not only that, but using Headspace will cost more in the long run at £49.99 a year, or £9.99 a month on a monthly subscription, whereas once you have the Morphee device, it’s yours to keep for a one-off cost.
The product comes in a luxury feeling cream and navy box, containing the device, a charger and an information booklet.
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Lifting the lid on the beechwood shell of the Morphee reveals a kind of clock-face, with three keys indicating the type of technique, the session and the length of the session. There’s also an on button, play button, volume buttons, and a switch to choose either Piers’ or Gina’s voice to guide you through some of the meditations.
There are more than 200 different combinations to choose from to help get a good night’s kip. The eight themes include a body scan, breathing, movement, visualisation, cardiac coherence, napping, relaxing music and nature sounds.
Meanwhile, there are eight sessions for each theme, and two options for either an eight minute session, or a 20 minute session.
Now, I was pretty sceptical about it having any effect – much like I was the one time I had reiki, acupuncture and a tarot reading. I’ll give pretty much anything a go once, just to make my own mind up about it.
And when you’ve been losing sleep for days, weeks, or even months, it’s safe to say that you’ll do anything just to have your head hit the pillow and have a peaceful nights’ rest.
After charging, the device is completely non-digital and works without a screen, internet or bluetooth. And any sleep expert will advise no electronic devices in the bedroom, which is what makes this so ideal.
I used the body scan app and had ‘Gina’ guide me through a relaxing body mapping session. It does feel a little cringe at first, but you soon brush it off. I could feel the stress of the day slipping away as I concentrated on contacting and relaxing muscles to ease their tension, listening to Gina’s soothing voice.
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Personally though, I love the nature sounds that feel as though I’ve been immersed in a David Attenborough documentary. There’s sounds of the sea, a jungle and even a crackling log fire, but my favourite was the jungle.
To test its effectiveness on the first night of use, I set it to eight minutes and I was sound asleep before it had a chance to finish. I felt as though I had slept deeply and had a genuinely restorative night.
Since then, I’ve tried the varying nature sounds and relaxing music, and each time, I’ve been asleep before the eight minutes is up.
Not only is the Morphee effective, but it’s pretty stylish too. It takes up next to no room on the bedside table, or can be stored in its shell in a drawer when it’s not being used.
The battery life lasts around three hours, meaning if you only use the eight minute sessions, it could last a few weeks before needing to be recharged. I’ve been using the Morphee every night and I’m seriously impressed with how quickly I’ve managed to fall asleep. It’s certainly a much healthier alternative to scrolling through TikTok until my eyes close.
You can buy your own Morphee to revolutionise your sleep routine here.