This Bank Holiday weekend, take some mindful moments for yourself and your family with our wellness retreat. Join in on breathwork practices, sleep hygiene tips and reminders, facial how-tos and more from 26th-29th May. Learn science-backed tips and tricks for greater wellbeing gains.
 

Between the family days out, home renovations, long-awaited bbqs, and (of course) well-deserved Bank Holiday overindulgence, it can feel impossible to sneak in some R&R and make the most of the extra days off, even if you feel you so desperately need it! While a Balinese break might be off the cards, we’re planning our very own wellness retreat and inviting you to join. As experts in making wellness simple (and accessible) our team of experts have pulled together a virtual wellbeing retreat featuring a schedule of activities and rituals that can be done from the comfort of your house, garden, the park, or wherever you’re staying!

What can you expect? We’re honing in on our core wellness pillars of sleep, stress reduction, mood management, and skin health through different DIY experiences, breathwork exercises, sleep hygiene sessions, facial how-tos, physio advice, mindful arts and crafts and energising Yoga Nidra. View the entire weekend line-up below or join us on our Instagram for bitesize videos, so you can tune in whenever you have a chance or join the full itinerary from Friday through to Monday.

Discover more science-backed ways you can prioritise wellness over the weekend, and tips from the experts below.

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friday afternoon: immersive relaxation

 
What better way to kick off the long weekend than to unplug, wind down and fully immerse yourself in all things relaxation? Clearing your workspace and resetting your home with beautiful-smelling candles, warm lamps, and a secure, joy-sparking environment is a multisensorial experience for the eyes, nose, and skin and sets the tone for switching off. For ultimate, full-body tranquillity, think soft: cocooning blankets, comfortable clothing, cosy candlelight, and comforting.
Golden afternoon light is not just the perfect backdrop for photographs - it helps us nod off easier too. To counteract the negative effects digital devices can have on us during the day, get back outside in the late afternoon to soak up another 10-30 minutes of low-level sunlight. Exposing the receptor pigments in the eye to this lower angle of light helps to anchor the body clock and trigger the timed release of melatonin which helps us fall asleep smoothly later on in the evening.1,2
 
Blue light emitted from digital devices like TV and our phone screens can have a negative effect on our circadian rhythm as it can promote alertness when we want to wind down.3,4,5,6,7 Turn screens off for an evening and opt for a book, practice breathwork or immerse yourself in something creative like knitting or painting.
Tonight, we will be following our breathwork techniques for stress relief to calm our nervous system to take the body from ‘fight or flight’ to ‘rest and digest’. Studies have shown that breathwork practices which alter the balance of carbon dioxide to oxygen in our blood towards oxygen can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system and reduce feelings of stress. 4-7-8 Breathing is thought to reduce cortisol levels whilst helping improve blood flow to the brain.8,9,10,11,12
Visit our Instagram to find expert tips from Headspace on how meditation can help improve your sleep, so you wake up feeling refreshed.
Tuning out of the digital world creates the perfect opportunity to tune into and connect with your partner. Craving more connection with your partner? Why not try a spritz of our intimacy-promoting sleep spray, love sleep to scent the room before giving each other a relaxing massage?

friday evening: journey to sleep

Your afternoon ‘off the grid’ should have you suitably relaxed and ready for a restorative night’s sleep, right? While a weekend lay-in may be top of your Bank Holiday wish list, many of us just cannot seem to sleep in, no matter how hard we try. Creating a relaxing pre-bedtime ritual that includes a warm bath, low lighting, some self-care, and science-backed sleep-promoting bodycare can help improve the quality of your sleep and (fingers crossed) put you in good stead for those extra hours of shut-eye.
So, you’ve slipped into bed and the lights are off, but you can’t get your brain to do the same. What gives? Well, a good night’s sleep starts way before your head hits the pillow. Warming up your body and environment before bedtime, utilising light exposure, and creating a pre-bed routine that includes calming functional fragrances like Lavender, Camomile, and Vetivert can help your brain and body get ready for sleep.

 

Way before you get into bed, switching off the ‘big lights’ in your home, lighting candles, or turning on warm lamps will not only create a calming ambience for the nervous system, but it helps to trigger the release of melatonin too – the hormone needed to help us get ready for sleep. Bright, artificial lights should be totally avoided between 10pm and 4am, as these reduce sleepiness and can throw off the circadian clock. Using a sunset simulator, such as Lumie’s Bodyclock can help replicate evening light cues that we usually receive and is an effective way of reducing bright light exposure and signaling to the brain that sleep is imminent.5,6
Drinking lots of liquid in the evening should be avoided to prevent your bladder from rudely awakening you in the early hours, but a warm drink like chamomile or peppermint tea is a great pre-bedtime choice for relaxation. If you prefer something cold, TRIP’s sparkling CBD-infused drinks are proven to calm the mind and aid sleep without drowsiness, and have a gentle, light taste.
Prepare yourself a simple, tryptophan-rich meal to allow for optimal sleep. Tryptophan is an amino acid that your body needs to produce melatonin, humans don’t produce it and therefore it must be provided through diet. Tryptophan-rich foods include dairy, Turkey, oats, chocolate, and bananas. The timing of a meal can also be important for regulating our circadian rhythm.
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Next, run yourself a warm bath or hot shower and light the room with Lavender-scented candles to create a warm, inviting spa-like experience in your bathroom. Wash away the stresses of the day with deep sleep shower gel, a sulphate-free blend of pure Lavender, Camomile, and Vetivert essential oils to calm and soothe whilst cleansing, softening, and protecting the skin. Follow with deep sleep body whip, a natural, calming body cream infused with Hemp Seed Extract, Magnesium, and our fMRI-tested deep sleep functional fragrance to rest your mind and renew your skin. Take a few moments to inhale the fragrance before mindfully massaging it into skin to maximise your sleep, skin vitality, and overnight recovery.
Our multi-award-winning deep sleep and sleep plus pillow sprays are formulated with powerful blends of our Deep Sleep functional fragrance to help you fall asleep faster or stay asleep for longer. Tested under fMRI-imaging, in clinical and independent studies and on our trusted This Works panel, deep sleep uses a potent blend of Lavender, Camomile and Vetivert to help anxious sleepers who struggle to switch off fall asleep faster and wake feeling more refreshed. For restless sleepers who find themselves tossing and turning, sleep plus pillow spray contains a motion-activated encapsulated blend of the same fragrance, which is released throughout the night to help you stay asleep for longer and proven to help maximise the time spent in REM sleep, and hopefully give you that much-needed Bank Holiday lay in. Want to find more natural remedies for sleep?
  
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saturday morning: get creative!

Are your creative juices flowing after that great night’s sleep? Or maybe you want to blow away the cobwebs after the long weekend got off to a heavy start? Saturday’s Wellness Weekend agenda is all about getting creative with your hands, time, and ways to boost energy. If your Bank Holiday is full of family plans, you may feel like finding time for yourself is a struggle, but these quick fixes are science-backed ways to help boost serotonin and dopamine, so you can get the weekend off to a spritely and positive start.
One free and simple way to set yourself up for a happy day ahead is by utilising morning light. Did you know the type of light we view and the time of day we are exposed to it can have tremendous effects on our sleep and our mood? Getting outside in sunlight for just 10-30 minutes a day (as soon after waking as possible) is an effective way to trigger the release of dopamine and peak cortisol levels early in the day. This helps tell the body it’s time to wake up, helps boost the immune system, and increases our ability to focus – important stuff for a day spent with kids, in-laws, and hosting! If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, try drinking your morning coffee (another natural way to give yourself a quick dopamine hit and energy buzz!) outside, facing (but not looking directly at) the sunlight, or take your dog for a quick walk around the block before getting ready to take on the day.13,14,15
Pushed for time? Incorporate some uber-quick wellness practices into your morning routine by switching your warm shower for a cold one. After you’ve washed your hair and done your cleansing, turn down your shower temperature as cold as you can safely tolerate for 1-3 minutes. This practice is known to increase baseline dopamine (the happy hormone) for hours dramatically, while also helping to reset and align the body’s circadian rhythm.16,17,18
 
 
In the mood to move? Regular, light exercise is not just good for your muscles, joints, and bones, but it’s one of the most effective ways to stabilise mood and balance hormones, too. Exercise helps regulate neurotransmitter levels, which means it can help us feel mentally and physically healthy. The most important thing to be mindful of when you exercise is to do something you genuinely enjoy. Many people cite lack of exercise down to hating the gym, but pumping iron alongside bodybuilding men and women is just one way to focus on your fitness. Walking, stretching, Pilates and at-home workouts (especially those done outside) are all ways to get your body moving in a positive way, and varying your exercises can help you navigate different phases of your life too. Here Rachel Hubbard, renowned fitness coach, Sports Science graduate, and experienced mum of four, shares her top exercises for mindful movement.
 
 

saturday afternoon: it's playtime

Did someone say a third bank holiday? The month of May is shaping up to be no work and all play, isn’t it? Jokes aside, neuroscience actually tells us that playtime is something that is pretty essential when it comes to brain development in both adults and children. So, while all these long weekends are definitely a nice bonus, it’s also time that can be spent wisely in terms of your family’s wellbeing. And don’t feel guilty – there’ll be plenty of time for work in June.19
Playtime with your kids or other social activities with friends like dancing or outdoor exercise plays a key role in stimulating one of the happy hormones dopamine because it activates the reward system in your brain. Play in fact sparks a considerable surge in dopamine, which not only makes us feel great at the time but also reinforces learning and memory functions in the brain, improving cognition in adult and child brains alike. So, playing with your kids really is mutually beneficial. And whether it's exercise outdoors, video games or dressing up, making time for play this weekend and for connecting with friends and family should be high on your priority list. A no-brainer, if you will.
 
 
Play can be as elaborate or as simple as you want to make it, and it isn’t weather dependent either. For wet days, why not try building a den (extra brownie points for fairy lights!) or get the kids to help you get creative with family photos, coloured card, and pens by scrapbooking old mementos? Get the whole family (no matter their age) involved in some painting – fingers, toes, or brushes all work, or teach your older ones to get quizzical with a traditional game of cards. If the sun decides to put its hat on, get green-fingered with some plants, or set up some simple bowls, sticks, and good old mud – toddlers will love to ‘cook’ alongside you! Big bbq on the cards? A big game of Twister, badminton, or rounders will go down a storm with the whole family.

sunday morning: nourish your body

Amongst all the fun with the family, it’s important to try and find time for you and only you, too. Enjoying moments of self-care, beauty or skincare routines that make you look and feel your best trigger the reward hormone dopamine in your brain, so not only is looking after yourself good for your skin, but it’s good for your brain too. Kick off your Sunday morning by getting back out into the morning light for 10-30 minutes before taking your morning shower and starting a bodycare routine that leaves your skin feeling smooth, soft, and radiant with our Perfect range. Perfect legs 100% natural scrub is a buttery exfoliating balm with Pink Himalayan Salt that buffs away dead skin to leave skin feeling silky smooth and nourished. Massage into the skin whilst breathing in uplifting sweet orange oils and giving your body an all-over glow. Now that you’re prepped from head to toe, gradually add subtle warmth and a golden colour to the skin with perfect legs gradual tan, a buildable serum formulated with a hard-working Superblend of Caramel and DHA, brightening Vitamin C and moisturising Shea Butter for a radiant, long-lasting glow. Apply throughout the week for a buildable colour that you can customise.
Our perfect products are infused with our mood-boosting Functional Fragrance of Geranium and Sweet Orange essential oils has been shown in fMRI brain imaging to affect areas of the brain associated with reward, memory, and emotion * *Pilot fMRI study 2022.
If you don’t have time for a two-step full body-care routine, your self-care rituals don’t need to be complicated to leave your body and mind feeling good. Before you head out for more Bank Holiday fun, give your feet a quick treat with our perfect heels rescue balm, a super-nourishing miracle foot balm with Cotton Thistle, Lemon, and Lavender to repair and perfect parched skin and cracked, dry heels. A highly effective daily treat for hardworking feet that leaves skin soothed, smooth and younger-looking.
Nourishing your body on the inside is important too, and a healthy gut can make for better sleep quality, skin health and improved energy. Eating a balanced diet full of colour, varied nutrients and satisfying foods is key, but we know that in our busy modern lives, it may be difficult to make time for elaborate meals and grab-and-go is often the norm. A daily measure of Symprove can help support your gut’s microbiome, which has a crucial role in helping manage inflammation and ensuring our immune system functions appropriately to potential threats.
GOODMIND’s premium range of functional mushroom formulas were created to help you navigate the pressures of the modern world and greet external chaos with a sense of calm. Designed to be added to your morning coffee or taken in capsule form, these formulas use three different types of adaptogenic mushrooms to help boost everyday wellbeing and support you throughout the day, so you can look and feel your best.

sunday afternoon: nourish your mind

Cosy pjs, a delicious breakfast, an uplifting playlist - some things just make sense on a Sunday. Sometimes, slow, sleepy Sundays are just what the doctor ordered, and this Bank Holiday, we’re encouraging you to tune into the little things that make your mind sing. Kickstart your day with a nutritious, tasty meal full of foods that make you feel good, whether it’s whipping up some blueberry pancakes with your family, or your favourite green smoothie, treat yourself to what your body needs (and loves). Keeping digital devices off and opting for a playlist that suits your mood is a nice way to set the tone for the day. Feel like dancing around the kitchen or prefer to settle down on the sofa with a cup of something hot? Create a playlist of songs that feel like the theme tune to your day.
Want to feel extra easy like Sunday morning? Burning some sage, sitting down to journal your gratitude, or reading through affirmation cards can be a rewarding way to start (or end, whichever way you look at it!) your week, putting you in a mindset that feels content and calm. If you want to take your mindfulness up a notch, creating a vision board helps some visualise the things that are important to them, what they want to achieve, and how to get there. Go as little or large as you like – it's your dream after all – and cut and stick photos of your future home, dream holiday destination, work accomplishments, or whatever else feels important for you right now.
 
We’ve teamed up with the founder of Yoga Breathwork (@yoga_breathworks), Helen Maroudias to provide a follow-along Yoga Nidra session. Practicing Yoga Nidra can help balance and promote relaxation. Studies prove that listening to an NSDR or (non-sleep deep rest) script such as Yoga Nidra for 10-30 minutes, around 4 hours after mental or physical activity like work or exercise can help slow the brain down. NSDR slows brain waves to mimic what happens during the deep sleep phase. During this phase, the brain reactivates recently stored memories to transfer them from short-term storage to long-term. It’s also in this phase that your body repairs muscles and promotes immune system function.20,21
YOGA BREATHWORKS
Before settling into bed, nourish your skin with a rejuvenating facial using active ingredients and techniques that help support the natural overnight repair process.
 
Step 1: Gently swipe in transit no traces over your face and neck to remove all traces of make-up and impurities with in transit no traces.
 
Step 2: Apply a pea-sized amount of my wrinkles tired eyes to your under-eye area. Gently smooth the cream into the skin with your ring finger.
 
Step 3: Apply 3-4 drops of my wrinkles CBD skin booster + Bakuchiol onto your skin, taking care not to touch your face with the pipette.
 
Step 4: Massage the serum into the skin in upwards motions.
 
Step 5: Massage my wrinkles midnight moisture into your skin using the same upward motions.
 
Step 6: Don’t neglect the neck. Gently apply perfect cleavage & neck serum to nourish and firm the delicate skin on your décolletage and neck.

monday morning: prepare for the great outdoors

Getting outdoors in fresh air and amongst nature is the perfect way to spend your extra day off before you go back to the office, working from home, or the daily juggle that is modern life – which is often sedentary and spent indoors under harsh lighting and conditions.
Before stepping out for a day of outdoor fun, it’s important to cleanse, protect and prime your skin, and our In Transit collection was created to move with you for every day and every adventure. Take some short time for yourself first thing to carry out a simple three-step skin routine using our in transit no traces 100% biodegradable cleansing pads, which remove all traces of dirt, make-up, and impurities while hydrating the skin with calming Rosewater, Sweet Almond Oil and refreshing Water Mint.
Our multi-award-winning in transit camera close-up is a 3-in-1 mask, moisturiser and primer, making it the perfect product for those on the go. Cut out the ten-step routine and brighten, moisturise and prime the skin for make-up with our unique blend of plant oils to rebuild and protect the skin barrier – along with hydrating Hyaluronic Acid and Caffeine to rebalance and revitalise. Improve redness and the appearance of blemishes and pores with ethically sourced optical blurring powder, which created a flawless-looking base for long-lasting make-up.
Finally, protect the skin from UVA and UVB rays with our broad-spectrum, non-comedogenic sunscreen, in transit skin defence in SPF 30 or 45, formulated to prevent harmful rays from damaging the skin without leaving a greasy or white cast, whilst soothing and restoring the skin.
 
 

monday afternoon: go out and get social

Our multi-award-winning in transit camera close-up is a 3-in-1 mask, moisturiser and primer, making it the perfect product for those on the go. Cut out the ten-step routine and brighten, moisturise and prime the skin for make-up with our unique blend of plant oils to rebuild and protect the skin barrier – along with hydrating Hyaluronic Acid and Caffeine to rebalance and revitalise. Improve redness and the appearance of blemishes and pores with ethically sourced optical blurring powder, which created a flawless-looking base for long-lasting make-up.

Finally, protect the skin from UVA and UVB rays with our broad-spectrum, non-comedogenic sunscreen, in transit skin defence in SPF 30 or 45, formulated to prevent harmful rays from damaging the skin without leaving a greasy or white cast, whilst soothing and restoring the skin.
Falling into routine is where many of us feel comfortable and change can be a stressful thought, but adversity is good for our brain, and while sticking to the status quo feels safe, it can mean that we lose our ability to be resilient and accept uncertainty. There are few better ways to improve our resilience than through adventure. Pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone by doing things like taking a walk in an unfamiliar place, bike riding on a bumpy track, or putting on our old ice skates can help us build confidence and demonstrate to ourselves that we’re able to deal with things that feel unfamiliar – and have fun whilst doing it! Getting adventurous outdoors with friends and family today is a great opportunity to create memories, move our bodies and push ourselves to shake off the mundane, and you’ll be grateful tomorrow you didn’t spend your last day of the holidays worrying about the week to come!
Want to learn more about the positive effects the great outdoors can have on our brains and bodies? We sat down with Army Veteran Grenville Chaganis of Outdoor Nation, who sheds some light on why the best tonic for mind, body and soul is outdoor adventure.
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Used to spending the afternoon in a pub garden after a bank holiday walk? We recommend shaking up social drinking with SENTIA spirits- a mood-enhancing spirit without the alcohol. SENTIA contains ingredients known to enhance your brain's natural GABA, which is thought to be why alcohol is so popular. The experience is renowned for a sense of lightness and relaxation and has been given the stamp of approval by our CEO Anna Persaud.

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10. Nowicki, L. V. (2021). The Effect of a Breathing Technique on Reducing Postoperative Orthopedic Pain. In The Nurse Practitioner (Vol. 40, Issue 4). 11. Lin, Z., Kunze, K., Ueki, A., & Inakage, M. (2020). AromaCue - A scent toolkit to cope with stress using the 4-7-8 breathing method. TEI 2020 - Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction.

12. Pandekar, P. P., & Thangavelu, P. D. (2019). Effect of 4-7-8 Breathing Technique on Anxiety and Depression in Moderate. International Journal of Health Sciences and Research, 9(5). 13. Terman, J. S., Terman, M., Lo, E. S., & Cooper, T. B. (2001). Circadian time of morning light administration and therapeutic response in winter depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 58(1). 14. Okamoto, Y., Rea, M. S., & Figueiro, M. G. (2014). Temporal dynamics of EEG activity during short- and long-wavelength light exposures in the early morning. BMC Research Notes, 7(1). 15. The duration of light exposure in the morning and early‐afternoon affects adaptation to night work. (2019). Journal of Sleep Research, 28(S1).

16. Hamid, A. A., Pettibone, J. R., Mabrouk, O. S., Hetrick, V. L., Schmidt, R., vander Weele, C. M., Kennedy, R. T., Aragona, B. J., & Berke, J. D. (2015). Mesolimbic dopamine signals the value of work. Nature Neuroscience, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4173

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