Having suffered from sleep deprivation, particularly since her second daughter was born, which continued even once she was through the frequent waking stage, Nicole Sneddon found herself searching for a solution to get a better night’s sleep. Concerned about the short and long term effects of sleep deprivation, like concentration, mood, immune response and memory, she soon realised that there was no single product that was going to fix her issues, but rather a collection of things that needed to become part of her sleep ritual. This is when the idea for Sleep Seeker Co. was born. They believe in a holistic approach to creating a personalised sleep hygiene routine that addresses the three most significant care points that contribute to poor sleep: mind, body and environment. They seek out the most effective products to help you fall asleep quicker and stay asleep longer. Here, Nicole talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind Sleep Seeker Co., how she balances work and family, and their hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I’m a mumma to two beautiful girls – one is 21, and the other is 5. And as we all know, with parenting comes sleepless nights and loads of stress! My sleep had been average at best for a long time, especially since my five-year-old was born. I found it very hard to fall back asleep after night feeds, which blew my sleep cycle out. And after that stage passed, I struggled to switch my mind off at night with an endless thought cycle, I had a lot of partner disturbance (snoring husband anyone!), and I tended to overheat at night. I wasn’t coping very well on 5-6 hours of sleep each night; the effects of constant sleepless nights were straining my emotions and cognitive abilities, which made handling day-to-day tasks difficult as I always felt so drained and fatigued.
I knew the sleep deprivation was the culprit, so I searched high and low for the silver bullet that would help me sleep; after trying so many different products, I realised that there was no one-hit-wonder product that was going to solve my sleeping issues, rather, it was a collection of things that I had made into my sleep ritual that truly made the difference. From this ah-ha moment, Sleep Seeker Co. was born.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
This idea for Sleep Seeker had been swirling around in my thoughts for a little while, and after having this conversation with my family and friends, I was overwhelmed with how many other people were also suffering from sleep deprivation and how much of an effect it had on their daily lives. Each person had their own reasons – Hormones, Shiftwork, Parenting, Anxiety, it was pretty astonishing! My brother Jared had recently returned from working on Superyachts and had been having the same conversations within his industry. After we spoke, we could see there was something here, so we decided to jump right in.
We built Sleep Seeker Co. from the ground up and did absolutely everything ourselves. Luckily, I come from a lengthy background in marketing & design, with a lot of that time working for a global natural health brand, so I had a fair amount of knowledge on how to get started in the natural health arena. And Jared had just started a degree in Psychology and is really passionate about the science behind the causes and solutions of sleep deprivation; we made a fantastic team from the get-go.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
The first breakthrough was developing the concept of a holistic approach toward sleep issues, understanding that the most effective way to combat poor sleep is to address your mind, your environment, and your body. These are significant care points that contribute to having consistent deep restorative sleep to leave you feeling your best. For example – for me, my sleep ritual consists of reading or journaling every night before bed; this helps reduce the clutter of my thoughts, then I always take a magnesium supplement to relax any nervous tension in my body, and lastly, I always have white noise on next to me to help drown out any unwanted noises. This is what my sleep routine looks like, but everyone has individual needs, so I developed a short quiz to help guide people toward what might suit their own circumstances.
The second breakthrough was after I made a beta version of the website, which I was able to use to share our story and vision with some amazing brands that we knew we just had to stock. Everyone was so supportive and just loved the concept. We managed to get pretty much everyone on board and it has helped shape the Sleep Seeker Co. brand to stock only high quality, efficacious products and solutions.
