'I Wanted To Poke Fun': How Otegha Uwagba Rewrote Sleeping Beauty For The Sleepless Era

-We all know the classic fairytale of Sleeping Beauty; the story of a princess that had been cursed to sleep for 100 years before being awoken by True Love’s Kiss. Ahhh.Well, best selling author Otegha Uwagba has reimagined it for the modern day in collaboration with Pukka Herbs for her latest project Sleepless Beauty, where she tackles modern-day problems like fringes trimmed at home, lattes and, crucially, the issues that women face when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep. Speaking exclusively with HuffPost UK, Otegha reveals that this project could not have come at a better time for her: “One of my new year’s resolutions was actually to tackle my own sleep issues so [when I was approached], I felt a little bit like somebody had been reading my messages or something.”Unfortunately, sleep issues are very common. According to new research from Pukka Herbs, over two-thirds of women between the ages of 25 and 44 years old are struggling to get enough sleep, averaging around six hours a night. Otegha confesses: “I don’t really find it hard to get to sleep that often, but I always wake up in the night and can’t get back to sleep for hours and hours on end.“I probably make it worse — and this is what I’m really trying to kick — I’ll go on my phone. When I can’t get back to sleep, I’ll whack that out, potter around, do some work in the middle of the night.”Almost one-third (32%) of the people Pukka Herbs spoke with admitted that screen time definitely plays a part in their sleep deprivation.How did Otegha modernise Sleeping Beauty?To really bring this reimagining alive, the author of We Need To Talk About Money had to break apart what we know about fairytales today.“I looked at the fairytale as a format, and obviously I think a lot of fairy tales tend to be quite dated in terms of values, in how they present gender and ’a princess wants to find her prince charming’,” she said. “I did want to poke fun of that a little bit, be a little tongue-in-cheek about it.”On top of this, she felt the story, which you can read here, needed modern-day references to be injected into it. “It was kind of a balance of keeping it true to the original story and setting, but bringing in modern references. That contrast between the two makes it quite funny... Even if you look at the cover, it’s done in a renaissance style, but she’s holding a smartphone,” said the author. “It’s bringing that clash together.”How to improve your overall sleepHuffPost UK also spoke with Marion Mackonochie, herbal science manager at Pukka Herbs, to learn more about how we can curb our own Sleepless Beauty lifestyles.She says: “What the research from Pukka Herbs shows is that people have been using things like bedtime routines, reading, avoiding screen times and things like that to help improve their sleep.”Mackonochie believes the best thing you can do for your sleep health is have a “really consistent routine”.“That means getting up at the same time every morning, eating your meals around the same time, and trying to go to bed at the same time in the evening,” she explains.Doing this, she urges, teaches your body what to expect and contributes to a healthy, consistent sleeping pattern.Other quick tips she provides include:Head outside into daylight first thing in the morning to wake your body upReduce caffeine after middaySwitch to herbal nighttime teas in the eveningDon’t drink alcohol before bedLearn more about Sleepless Beauty and Pukka’s Calm and Sleep Range on their website.Related...Chrissy Teigen Eats Ribs When She Can’t Sleep – Here’s A Doctor’s Verdict On Late-Night SnackingCan This 'Robot' Parenting Technique Get Kids To Sleep (And Actually Stay In Bed)?For A Long Life, This 1 Sleeping Habit Matters Most (And It's Not How Long You Sleep For)