You're tired. Can taking a sleepcation help? Inside the world of sleep retreats, smart beds and pillow menus.

Kristal Hicks was looking for true luxury on her last vacation. And that meant one thing: deep, uninterrupted rest.

She decided to go to El Silencio in Costa Rica. “The name says it all — silence,” Hicks, owner of Top Tier Travel Group in Springfield, Mo., tells Yahoo Life. Tucked away in the cloud forest, where there was no city noise or TVs, the lodge and spa offered “just nature and stillness.” Her room had an outdoor hot tub, which she said was the perfect way to unwind every night. “The beds? Heavenly. The darkness? Just right.”

Hicks isn’t alone in seeking out vacations that she plans to sleep right through. With wellness tourism being among the fastest-growing segments of travel, a new itinerary is in town — one that focuses on rest, relaxation and a do-nothing mindset.

The wellness industry raked in $6.3 trillion globally in 2023 alone, according to the Global Wellness Institute. And sleep tourism, a segment of the industry that focuses on rest, was a $74 billion market in 2024, according to a recent Grand View Research report. That number is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 12% from 2025 and 2030.

“Sleep-oriented travel really started about a decade ago,” Beth McGroarty, vice president of research at the Global Wellness Institute, tells Yahoo Life. Before that, “there wasn’t much attention being paid in our culture to the importance of sleep from a wellness perspective. Now you read about it constantly.”

That may be because many Americans are exhausted. According to a sleep survey conducted by Gallup in December 2023, 57% of American adults said they would feel better if they got more sleep. The same poll also found that only 36% of women and 48% of men felt they got the sleep they needed.

“People are experiencing such incredibly rising levels of stress and digital burnout that we’re really seeing a major shift in what a vacation actually is,” says McGroarty. And because of that, sleep is now big business.

How hotels are responding

Major hotel chains like Hyatt and Hilton are capitalizing on customers’ weariness, offering specialized sleep retreats, programs and amenities throughout the world. TJ Abrams, vice president of global well-being for Hyatt, tells Yahoo Life that a recent Hyatt customer survey found “3 in 4 consumers consider sleep quality the most important factor when traveling and are more likely to take advantage of amenities designed to improve sleep.”

Hilton’s 2025 Trends Report found similar results, including how sleep quality is now a key factor when customers are selecting hotels. “Sleep has become the next frontier in wellness travel,” Amanda Al-Masri, vice president of global wellness for Hilton, tells Yahoo Life. And that means hospitality brands need “to go beyond just offering a comfortable bed. Guests are seeking science-backed solutions that enhance the entire sleep experience.”

Both hotel chains now offer many sleep-focused options. Hyatt guests can look for everything from sleep ritual packs (think eye masks, herbal tea, etc.) and complimentary mindfulness content to more expensive stays outfitted with AI-powered smart beds and resorts that offer workshops and private sessions with certified dreamwork and sleep science coaches. Hilton, meanwhile, offers sleep retreats, spa services developed to optimize circadian rhythms and even a new focus on the “sleep divorce” trend, which has led to increased demand for confirmed connecting rooms, which allow guests traveling in the same party to stay close — but not that close.

“We are finally waking up to the importance of sleep,” says Rebecca Robbins, a sleep scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital who partnered with Hilton on its sleep programs. “Hotels should be all about sleep and providing the environment to support a guest’s sleep.”

Robbins adds that her 2020 study published in Tourism and Hospitality Research shows “a significant association between the guest’s sleep experience and their willingness to return to the property and say positive things about their stay to others.”

Boutique hotels and resorts are also getting in on the sleep trend. The Loutrel, a boutique hotel in Charleston, S.C., has a new package that offers sleep aids to guests, including a pillow menu, a sound machine and fresh eucalyptus in the shower. Digital detox programs at places like the Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club in Brewster, Mass., are specifically designed for guests looking to remain offline during their stay. And if you really want to splurge, a curated “Deep Sleep” private jet trip with TCS World Travel flies guests to isolated places around the world, all while focusing on their circadian rhythms for better sleep quality.

Is it worth the hype?

So, for all the bells and whistles (and money), does it actually work? For Shanon Morris, a travel adviser at Fora Travel and booker of several sleep vacations, it depends. “Sometimes, luxury hotels by the beach have the worst beds and sleep experience,” she says.

Other times, blackout shades, a sound machine and thick walls are all it takes for the experience to be worthwhile. “I think the key differentiator is how comfortable you feel in the new environment — physically, emotionally and mentally,” Morris notes.

Morris says her most restful nights traveling weren’t in hotels at all, but in the “back of a truck that was padded with the mattress I liked and the pillows I liked and the bamboo sheets I liked and the comforter that I could wrap up in and the warmth of my now-husband. … All of these ‘things’ made me feel safe, relaxed and untethered to the outside world.”

That untethering might be part of the quality sleep found on sleepcations. For people who have chronic sleep problems, “their bodies and brains have associated their own sleep environment with struggling to sleep,” Jade Wu, a board-certified sleep psychologist and Mattress Firm sleep adviser, tells Yahoo Life. “They may even actively feel anxiety or dread when approaching their own bed. So for them, a sleep vacation that takes them away from their own space is possibly more impactful than any amenity, because it’s a new setting that doesn’t come with insomnia ‘baggage.’”

This aligns with Hilton’s 2025 Trend Report, which found that nearly two-thirds of Americans actually sleep better in hotels than at home. Interestingly, a Harris Poll recently conducted on behalf of Mattress Firm found the opposite, with an overwhelming majority of respondents (93%) reporting getting their best sleep in their own beds, versus at hotels or other people’s homes.

While sleep vacations can be a nice reset for some, Wu says the benefits are not likely to be long-term. If you’re having trouble sleeping, “sometimes you need to go back to the basics and consider your sleep system and make sure you have the right foundation.”

How to sleep better wherever you are

Whether you sleep better in a hotel or at home, there are many changes you can make to your sleep environment to improve rest. Blocking out light, reducing noise and keeping the room cool have all been shown to improve sleep. Getting outside in the daytime, getting regular exercise, sticking to a consistent bedtime schedule and staying away from screens for at least one hour before bed have also been shown to help sleep quality.

“Sleep is something so fundamental to our biological functioning that it is very resilient,” says Wu. “But [it can also be] stubbornly unimpressed by luxury retreats and high-tech amenities.” Still, she’s not against people treating themselves. “If they want to take a sleep vacation to a luxurious hotel or resort to be pampered and have an excuse to get away, by all means, I love that idea.”