Launching a virtual sleep club

Client Sound Asleep Club / thinkpublic

The Challenge

The Sound Asleep Club was inspired by the need and desire to help NHS frontline workers and communities deal with the anxiety, stress and sleepless nights of Covid-19 lockdowns created in the UK.

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It's well known that there's a close relationship between sleep and mental health. Living with a mental health problem can affect how well you sleep, and poor sleep can have a negative impact on your mental health.

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Our Approach

We co-designing and developed the concept of a virtual sleep club to help people unwind their minds at the end of the day. We worked with communities, wellbeing experts and a sleep scientist to identify the best holistic practices to support relaxation and sleep.

This project went through many design iterations and sprints, using the live weekly classes to quickly test new ideas and gain instant feedback from community members.

A key component in our design process was developing a social business model that allows the club to become sustainable, scale and make money to create an ongoing positive impact. We developed a pay-monthly subscription model alongside a pay-as-you-go offer to allow us to learn which worked best. We also decided to give away free memberships to people struggling with their mental health for every new member, as it’s important that the classes are accessible to all.

The Outcome

The Sound Asleep Club was officially launched in November 2020, providing a range of live online bedtime classes, on-demand videos and products designed to appeal to people that may not have experienced holistic practices before.

The Sound Asleep Club has received support from the National Lottery Community Fund. It has partnered with various charities and public sector organisations to provide access to bedtime classes and workshops.

"Your soothing, calming voice and the amazing sound of that stunning gong gave me the deepest, most refreshing sleep I can remember."

Karen 

“Thank you for offering this to key workers, encouraging people to schedule time out to meditate. There couldn't be a better thing to do."

Sarah (NHS doctor)  ​

"It was very restful and helpful to distract the mind from the current situation, feel more secure, and be a great aid to sleep."

Emily