For nearly two decades, The Chenot Method® has rebooted me when I have been below par. Its holistic approach has helped me attain optimum physical performance when my energy levels and metabolism lag. When I can’t switch off my agitating monkey mind, this ingenious blend of cutting-edge diagnostics, detox diet, energetic rebalancing and Chinese medicine has soothed my soul, becalmed my psyche and re-invigorated my entire system.
Writing my last book, my sleep pattern went haywire. I woke in the early hours, my mind whirring with words, unable to fall back to sleep. It was dementing as I already practise good sleep hygiene: no electronic devices in my cool bedroom, no evening screen time, and no coffee or alcohol consumption.
The Chenot Method®: A Holistic Approach to Restoring Sleep
The minute I finished my manuscript, I rushed to Chenot Palace Weggis to experience their new Sleep Cycles module; offered as an add-on to their Recover & Energise programme. Shattered to the bone, I was curious about a sleep programme that does not involve monitors.
The gift of visiting a Chenot centre is that it is not just about weight loss or muscle gain – it is their incentive to re-educate you that is potentially life-changing. What I learned about healthy sleep has proved invaluable. That to reset one’s circadian balance, you have to pay as much attention to what is going on in the day, as you do to the night. As biologist Antonio Di Mauro, Member of Chenot’s Scientific Team, told me: “You have to pay attention to the light phase to enhance the dark phase.”
Understanding the Science of Sleep
To relax the nervous system, attention at Chenot is paid to increased sleep pressure (which causes you to feel sleepy), which is achieved by improving the progressive and physiological build-up of the neurotransmitter adenosine throughout the day. The more adenosine we build during daylight – by being outside in daylight and exercising, for example – the better and longer we sleep at night.
WHY 'SLEEP CYCLES'?
During the night the body works in 90-minute sleep cycles: N1 (lightest sleep), N2 (light sleep), N3 (deep sleep) and REM. While non-REM sleep accounts for the larger share earlier in the night, REM sleep stages lengthen during the second half. Chenot’s ‘Sleep Cycles’ module is designed to increase deep sleep, the cycle in which the body repairs and recovers.
REM SLEEP
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep increases brain activity to near-conscious levels. Muscles (except eye and respiratory muscles) are temporarily paralysed, and the body takes information and transmits it to the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) floods the brain, cleansing cells and removing amyloid plaques. Cognitive function improves and dementia risk reduces.
DEEP SLEEP
Also known as slow-wave sleep (SWS), the deep sleep cycle is when the brain is most relaxed and produces delta waves – the slow waves this phase is named for. During this stage, healing occurs, with the body repairing and regrowing tissue, building bone and muscle, and strengthening the immune system. This hugely enhances the efficacy of our Recover and Energise programme.
Innovative Treatments for Deep Rest
As part of the daily programme, every day I rested under what looked like an old-fashioned sun lamp, officially a full-body photobiomodulation machine. Far from bronzing me, it applied specific low-level laser therapy lightwaves to my cells to stimulate the levels of ATP, that is the source of energy at the cellular level. Despite the energetic trigger of this treatment, I found it extremely relaxing, and almost as soothing as the proceeding treatment, where I lay in a darkened room with headphones on, listening to cleverly curated neuro acoustic music.
Pioneered by the American company NuCalm, this soporific blend of tinkly tones, rushing water and sounds of nature is designed to synchronise with the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, coaxing the brain into relaxing alpha and theta waves. The aim is to reduce beta waves, which are associated with our active states and higher anxiety.
According to Di Mauro, most of us live in over-heated homes, which is detrimental to sleep health. “Science tells us that warmth is more dangerous and impairs our sleep more than cold,” he says. “Cryotherapy is not a futuristic medicine. It is a return to the past, where we were exposed to light and cold.” As part of the package, two daily sessions of whole-body cryotherapy at – 110 ° C helped calm my wired adrenal system, preparing me for deeper sleep.
Everything at Chenot is geared to help the body and mind recover from the thrashing it takes in our daily lives. The fast-mimicking daily diet of 850 calories triggers the metabolic process of autophagy. “It’s a healthy short-term shock that regenerates our body and biochemical pathways,” explains Di Mauro. Allowing the digestive system to rest and reset reduces inflammation, strengthens immunity, and restores the body’s biorhythm. Not only do you feel physically lighter as excess weight sloughs off, but mentally lighter, too. After the initial raging hunger subsides, I always feel that my appetite regulates to what my body needs – as opposed to what my mind craves.
The real joy of the Sleep Cycles module was, for me, staying in one of the four special sleep suites, which have been designed like a sound recording studio, so they remove noises unhelpful to slumber. Acoustics are carefully controlled so that noise doesn’t bounce off the walls, resulting in the rooms having a contained, safe feel. The Nanobionic bed linen, complete with an FDA determination as a medical device, is a revelation. This scientific bed linen contains minerals that absorb the body’s heat and reflect it back as infrared energy. It is sensational – you never overheat in the night and wake feeling reenergised, a feeling that is also achieved by using the Dagsmejan sleepwear, which has high-tech fibres that are also designed to maintain optimal sleep temperature throughout the night.
Achieving Lasting Rest and Resilience Through Better Sleep
According to Di Mauro, there are three interconnected pillars to our quality of life. The first is sleep: “the elixir of life. Second are dietary habits, and third is physical activity. All these pillars impact our mindset and are all tightly connected.”
After five nights on the Sleep Cycles module, I slept through the night. My busted circadian rhythm was repaired and has remained so. Di Mauro says that sleep quality is essential to our wellbeing. It increases our resilience to challenges and escalates our capacity for joy. I can vouch for that. I left Chenot Palace Weggis on a health high, armed with information to enhance my slumber and thus increase my appetite for life.
Pour induire une purification et une désintoxication profondes du corps afin d’éliminer les toxines, d’augmenter la vitalité, de rétablir les niveaux d’énergie et de rééquilibrer la physiologie.
CHF 5’500
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CHF 6’400
Le programme d’amélioration de la santé le plus intense de Chenot combinant notre détox signature avec un rajeunissement à fort impact pour retarder l’apparition du vieillissement biologique.
CHF 7’100