the science of switching off: Dr Anna Persaud in the Financial Times

It’s a question Dr Anna Persaud, CEO of This Works, recently explored with the Financial Times as part of its Brains of Wellbeing + Beauty series - a programme of live conversations with entrepreneurs, innovators and practitioners shaping the beauty and wellbeing industries.

In her interview, “Dr Anna Persaud: how to get the best night’s sleep,” Anna explored the science behind one of the things we have spent more than two decades studying at This Works: sleep.

But the conversation wasn’t only about what happens when your head hits the pillow. It was about what comes before it - and the science of switching off.

Photography: @shaunjamescox

At This Works, we believe recovery doesn’t begin when you get into bed. It begins when you switch off.

Throughout the day, our brains and bodies are continuously responding to the world around us: light, sound, scent, touch, movement, screens and the constant demands on our attention.

So the question isn’t simply how quickly you fall asleep. It’s how well you can transition from the demands of your day into the biological conditions that allow recovery to happen.

That transition was central to Anna’s conversation with the Financial Times, exploring sleep alongside the everyday behaviours and sensory signals that can influence our ability to rest.

Modern life asks a lot of our senses.

We move between screens, notifications, artificial light, conversations and constant streams of information, often right up until the moment we expect ourselves to sleep.

Our brains are continually processing sensory information and deciding what deserves our attention and what can be filtered out - a process known as sensory gating.

When we remain surrounded by stimulation, the transition from an active day into rest can become more difficult. This is why switching off isn’t simply about feeling tired. It’s about giving the brain and body the right cues that the demands of the day are coming to an end.

Rather than expecting the nervous system to move instantly from doing to sleeping, creating a consistent transition can help prepare the body for rest.

Dimming the lights. Stepping away from screens. Slowing your breathing. Taking a warm bath. Applying bodycare with intention. Returning to a familiar scent.

These small sensory cues can become part of a recognisable ritual that marks the transition from day to night.

Scent is particularly powerful because of the close relationship between our sense of smell and areas of the brain involved in emotion, memory and physiological responses.

It’s this connection that sits behind our approach to Functional Fragrance - carefully considered fragrance blends designed to work alongside sensory ritual at specific moments throughout the day and night.

Our deep sleep pillow spray, for example, combines Lavender, Camomile and Vetivert as part of a consistent bedtime ritual, creating a familiar sensory cue for the moment it’s time to switch off.

Better sleep isn’t only about perfecting the eight hours you spend in bed.

It’s also about considering what your nervous system experiences during the other sixteen.

Creating moments of pause throughout the day, getting natural light, becoming aware of overstimulation and developing consistent evening rituals can all form part of a wider approach to preparing for sleep.

Because switching off shouldn’t be another thing to perfect.

It’s about creating the conditions that allow the body to move away from the demands of the day and towards rest, recovery and sleep.

Recovery doesn’t begin when you get into bed. It begins when you switch off.

Watch Dr Anna Persaud’s full interview, “Dr Anna Persaud: how to get the best night’s sleep,” in the Financial Times here: Dr Anna Persaud: how to get the best night’s sleep