This de-stressing bath soak gave me the best night's sleep

a bottle of dreem distillery The Zs next to an image of the bath salts poured out into the lid, being held by a hand — (Image credit: Future / Fiona McKim)

My absolute favourite part of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's peerless sitcom Fleabag is the "hair is everything" monologue. "We wish it wasn't, so we could actually think about something else occasionally," she fumes at a bewildered hairdresser, "but it is."

On the whole, I agree. As the 'Bag herself says, "it's the difference between a good day and a bad day." But something else is even more critical in my opinion, and that's sleep. Sleep really is everything. It defines how you feel, look, perform, cope, relate to others, and see the world. A good night is delicious, a bad one is hellish, and I've just tried something that gave me the best snooze in recent memory.

So, seeing as the autumn equinox has passed and bath season is officially open for us cool-weather-only bathers (the only way to be, surely?), it only seems right to share.

Dreem Distillery

The Z's CBD Anchoring Bath Soak

RRP: £55

This big jar of goodness packs in muscle-soothing Epsom salts, anti-inflammatory CBD, magnesium, skin-softening coconut powder, and a fancy-as-it-gets aroma that fills up your nose and bathroom and mind with five-star spa fantasies.

I threw a handful in a probably-too-hot bath and soaked for half an hour, then melted into bed for a truly zonked out slumber. One of those rare 'you blink, it's morning, and you're deeply rested' ones. Heaven.

A blue and white jar of Dreem Distillery bath salts held in the palm of a hand, next to an image of the bath salts, spilled out into a jar lid, showing their golden colour and texture

In the spirit of honesty, I will concede that pretty much any bath can get you on your way to a decent night's kip.

A nice long soak has the opposite effect on your brain of that other popular evening activity, a long doomy scroll. It reduces, rather than raises, stressy cortisol levels. Plus, the hike and drop of your body temperature tells your circadian rhythm it's bedtime and helps you nod off.

The good news is, all of that good physiological stuff is merely the baseline of what a good bath can do, but using the best bath salts truly cranks things up to 11.

Dunking the Z's and yourself in a bath is a pretty great ritual whether you're frazzled or not. But this product has just so happened to meet me at a coming-together of house renovations, parenting a 3-year-old, a ramped-up workload, and a health concern milling about in the background. Lots of reasons for my brain to have a little party when it's time to shut off.

So, on go the taps and away go my troubles. Well, no, I won't claim a nice bath with posh salts actually removes stress from your life. But it can get you into the right place for restorative sleep, so you're far better able to deal with it.

Sounds good? Of course it does - sleep is everything.

As woman&home's Beauty Channel Editor, Fiona Mckim loves to share her 15+ years of industry intel on womanandhome.com and Instagram (@fionamckim if you like hair experiments and cute shih-tzus). After interning at ELLE, Fiona joined woman&home as Assistant Beauty Editor in 2013 under industry legend Jo GB, who taught her to understand ingredients and take a cynical approach to marketing claims. She has since covered every corner of the industry, interviewing dermatologists and celebrities from Davina McCall to Dame Joan Collins, reporting backstage at London Fashion Week and judging the w&h Beauty Awards.