"What is that?" my ex-boyfriend exclaimed. Confused, I looked around the room to try and figure out what he was talking about. Had I not effectively concealed my stuffed toys in the wardrobe like I thought I had? Had he mistaken my LED face mask on the side for some Star Wars obsession I hadn't outgrown?
Then I realised he was referring to the scent I had liberally doused on the pillows moments before we had gotten into bed.
"It's sleep spray," I told him, a little wounded by his reaction.
Still, his facial expression was one of pure horror - which, I'm sad to say, didn't budge when I proceeded to detail the therapeutic benefits of lavender and chamomile. Anyone would think I was trying to convince him that astrology is a science. Or divulged that I had once kicked a puppy.
It's safe to say that while that relationship didn't last long (disclaimer: not specifically due to pillow mist), my bedtime routine has stood the test of time - and sleep spray is still very much a part of the nightly ritual.
I first got into it during the pandemic. Like many others, due to the lack of physical exertion (beyond my once daily walk, that is), I struggled to nod off to sleep in the evening. It was no doubt compounded by my fear of what was coming next, the stress of working in news, the anxiety around living in isolation, and not seeing friends and loved ones for extended periods of time.
And so, I looked into ways I could create a serene environment in my bedroom and beyond, to enable me to release some of my daily stress and coax me into a state of reduced consciousness - a sanctuary from the real world, as it were.
I invested in some posh new White Company bedding, a Neom diffuser and made a conscious effort to improve my sleeping patterns and habits. I couldn't control the outside world, but I could control life inside those four walls.
But still, a lot of people (not just my ex) think that pillow spray is a myth - something conjured up by beauty brands to trick gullible people like me into parting with their hard-earned money.
So I decided to look into the sleep spray phenomenon in more detail, to find out if - as one popular brand claims - it does indeed work.
First things first, I explored the benefits of essential oils, and found out that they can help reduce the effects of stress, depression, nausea, insomnia and various other mental and physical conditions. When inhaled safely, these natural scent molecules travel from the olfactory nerves directly to the brain, and especially impact the amygdala (or the emotional centre).
They can also be absorbed by the skin, which is why you get things like body oils and bath soaks to ease muscle aches and soothe the body.
Lavender and chamomile, in particular, have sleep-enhancing qualities. The former has been used since ancient times to counteract the effects of insomnia, and modern studies, including this review from 2014, has found the ingredient works to ease mild to moderate sleep disturbances.
Chamomile, especially when consumed in tea form, also has been used traditionally for medicinal purposes, and has likewise been linked to calming stress and anxiety. It is also an antioxidant and has antimicrobial qualities.
Speaking to professor Kevin Morgan FAcSS PhD of Loughborough University, an expert who has dedicated his career to researching human sleep, my sleep spray habit was further validated.
"Is it all a load of nonsense?" I asked him.
"Absolutely not," he assured me. "But the interesting thing - I mean, this is fascinating - is that the science isn't necessarily where people expect it to be."
Probing him on what he meant by this, Morgan explained that, beyond the benefits of aromatherapy and homeotherapy and how it "kind of mimics pharmacotherapy in its thinking", it's the physiological and psychological model of it that's really important here.
"I'll give you an example of what I mean," he said. "If I had to read a document at 11pm for the next morning, I could sit at the table and be fully alert, taking in all the information. On the other hand, if I took that same document to bed, I'd likely struggle to keep my eyes open and absorb what's on the page."
"Another example," he continued, "is when you go to a restaurant when you're not feeling hungry. Suddenly, surrounded by the stimulus of food smells and nice-looking dishes, you find that you are, in fact, rather peckish.
"And that's a common experience," he says. "Getting into bed itself has a sleep-promoting effect. This is called a 'stimulus control'. It is where a behaviour is repeatedly rewarded in a certain situation, like falling asleep in bed. The environment draws behaviours out of them that are appropriate for those settings. The stimulus or sensory environment of a bedroom space is critical for initiating sleep."
How does this relate to sleep spray specifically, you ask? Well, similarly to the feel of plush pillows, the weight of the duvet and blankets, and even the time of day, the habit I have established by using sleep spray - and the associated reward (i.e. sleep) - means that my body knows it's bedtime when I smell that specific fragrance, and therefore knows it's time to switch off and start the sleep process.
Professor Morgan also pointed out that this is why many of us may struggle to sleep when we're in a hotel or new environment, because it breaks away from the routine we have established for ourselves.
So there you have it. Sleep spray isn't just for delusional people who like nice-smelling things. There is, indeed, method to the madness - and it can help you get off to sleep.