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ELITENESS SLEEP & LIVE BEAUTIFULLY
NUTRITION TELL ME WHAT YOU EAT AND I'LL TELL YOU HOW YOU SLEEP
DESTINATION BACK TO NATURE, A LUXURY IN ITSELF
HEALTH SLEEP DEPRIVATION: NEW PITFALLS TO AVOID
ENVIRONMENT LUC FERRY “ WE MUST PUT AN END TO PUNITIVE ECOLOGY! ”
WHAT IF SLEEPING WELL MADE IT POSSIBLE TO LIVE THE LIFE YOU'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF?
EDITORIAL
Dreaming is not prohibited
What if sleeping well allowed us to make our dreams come true? Sleep and dreams have a thousand virtues. Dreaming sometimes allows us to see what we really want, among other things. In this issue, Luc Ferry, a deeply anti-catastrophic philosopher, dreams of a plural form of ecology. He believes that, if done properly, growth and consumption could be non-polluting and even de-polluting. The circular economy - inspired by nature, which endlessly transforms everything it creates - could therefore value and recycle all the objects or materials it produces. You will also read the words of sleep doctor Katerina Espa Cervena, who dreams of following the dictates of reason. For her, the lack of rest in the population is to be taken seriously; however, we must avoid making it an obsession and start by being more aware of the needs of our body to improve our sleep. We see the same wisdom in chef Heston Blumenthal, for whom “ sleeping well is the same as eating well ”. According to him, the most intimate relationship we have is with ourselves. “ It is the most difficult, but also the most rewarding.” Elite also dreams. We make sure that each of our actions is virtuous to improve your health and that of our planet. Our production and know-how continue to take root in Switzerland. And we are committed, for example, to tracing the supply chains of every raw material we process. Whilst some promise a grim future, there are other voices that have confidence and faith in human intelligence. Let's daydream!
François Pugliese
SLEEP WELL AND DISCOVER THE ENERGY TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS
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CONTENTS
4 NEWS
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HEALTH 7 Sleep deprivation: new pitfalls to avoid
NUTRITION 11 Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you how you sleep PORTRAIT 15 Daniel André, creative perfumer, able to smell in his sleep MEET 18 Heston Blumenthal, the world's best chef, tells us about his vision of sleep
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BEDDING 20 How to choose your duvet 21 How to choose your pillow 22 Find the right mattress for you 26 Pleat, a sophisticated bed ENVIRONMENT 28 Luc Ferry “ We must put an end to punitive ecology! ” DESTINATION 30 Back to nature, a luxury in itself
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32 OUR ADDRESSES
NEWS
ANIMALS, A GOOD SLEEPING PILL
Allergies, hygiene, there are many reasons to ban cats, dogs and other pets from our children's beds. However, according to a recent Canadian study carried out on participants in the Healthy Heart Project aged between 11 and 17, this would be wrong: this nocturnal cohabitation seems to have a beneficial effect, linked to the comforting presence of the animal. Of course this depends on the quality of the relationship between the child and their four-legged friend.
NIGHTMARES TO BUILD UP RESISTANCE TO FEAR In the countries most affected by Covid-19 and those with strict quarantine measures in place, people seem to have had more nightmares. A study of 114 doctors and 414 nurses working in the Chinese city of Wuhan found that
more than a quarter of them reported having frequent nightmares. However, after a bad dream, the area of the brain that prepares us for fear is more effective, as if the nightmare had trained us for this situation.
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pages produced by Sylvie Ulmann
NEWS
SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND DEMENTIA
Short sleep duration in mid-life is associated with a 30% increase in the risk of dementia. This was the finding of a team of researchers from the University of Paris CRESS, analysing data from 7959 participants in the Whitehall II study. The next step is to understand how the characteristics
of sleep - its duration, disturbances, possible apnoea, etc. - are related to this risk. This would help to identify the key points at which to intervene to reduce or delay the progression of dementia.
FASTING FOR BETTER SLEEP
Intermittent fasting, which is practised over only eight, ten or twelve hours, is very popular. In addition to putting our bodies at rest and helping to stabilise our weight, it is also thought to help strengthen our circadian rhythm, which manages a host of biological functions, including the sleep- wake rhythm. This is mainly due to the fact that people who practice this type of fasting eat their meals at fixed times. However, be careful not to go to bed hungry, as this is a guarantee that you’ll spend the night without any shut-eye!
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NEWS
CONSCIOUS DREAMING It's hard to remember your dreams when you're awake. This observation led researchers from four Inserm laboratories in Paris to wonder whether it would be possible to talk to dreamers during their dreams. And they noticed that those in a particular category, the “ lucid dreamers ” , are perfectly capable of having a conversation without waking up! They understand questions, answer them with yes or no - even with eye movements or by contracting their facial muscles - and perform simple calculations. This is a discovery that could be useful in helping people suffering from nightmares.
MEMORY AND SLEEP We have known for a while that when we sleep, our brains take the opportunity to consolidate our memories. But this memorisation process is still unclear to us. Researchers from the University of Geneva therefore proposed two games to a test group. These were rigged so that participants could only win one. They were then sent to sleep in an MRI machine. As a result, it would appear that it is during the deep sleep phases that the brain stores its memories. And it tends to remember the good ones rather than the bad ones.
WHY DO WE DREAM? Erik Hoel, a neuroscientist at Tufts University in Massachusetts, has come up with an interesting hypothesis. So that we remain able to adapt to the unexpected, both physically and mentally, we must confront it regularly. The older we get, the more similar our days tend to be, limiting our 'learning set'. By projecting ourselves into a strange version of the world, our dreams could serve as a 'training ground'. This theory still needs to be tested, however.
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HEALTH
SLEEP DEPRIVATION: NEW PITFALLS TO AVOID... One third of the population lives with a proven sleep deficit. And for many others, there is the constant stress of trying to get to sleep. Should we be concerned? Dr. Katerina Espa Cervena, a psychiatrist, is the medical director of Cenas, the sleep medicine centre in Geneva. According to her, this lack of rest should be taken seriously, but it should not become an obsession. Very often, the more one chases after sleep, the more evasive it becomes... Interview. Text - Sophie Franklin, Photo - Cenas
Yes, in adulthood, the amount of sleep each individual needs var ies according to thei r genetic profile. For those who
Does the amount of sleep required really vary from one individual to another?
don’t need much sleep, 5 hours will be quite sufficient. Whereas for heavy sleepers, 9 hours will be necessary. So much so that they may even experience symptoms of sleep deprivation if they only sleep 7.5 hours.
Sleep needs are different for different population groups. For example, for someone who is no longer working,
Which part of the population is most at risk from sleep deprivation?
the chronic sleep debt will be less severe than for a teenager. The recommended sleep duration up to the age of 18 is 9.25 hours. It is a fact that teenagers rarely sleep that much; even without going to bed late, given the time their lessons start, it is difficult for them to meet their sleep needs. In addition, their overexposure to screens before bedtime will further delay falling asleep. A large majority of them are therefore exposed to a sleep deficit. They are clearly the most at risk population. It has been shown that this lack of sleep, at a time when their brains are developing, can lead to poor school performance and inappropriate behaviour.
I f you do not su f f e r f r om daytime fatigue, if you feel perfectly well, do not try to sleep differently! However, if
How do we know if we are getting enough sleep?
you are tired during the day, the question is whether you are suffering from insomnia or sleep deprivation.
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HEALTH
It is essential to distinguish between insomnia and sleep deprivation. While both have the same effect on our daily
What is the difference between insomnia and sleep deprivation?
lives, the ways to improve your sleep are not the same. In the case of sleep deprivation, your body or brain does not give your organism the opportunity to sleep for as long as it needs. Sleep deprivation occurs when, for example, there is excessive work or leisure time, and you do not yourself give yourself the possibility of getting enough sleep. Insomnia, on the other hand, is a condition for which you are not responsible; for example, you have difficulty initiating sleep or maintaining it by waking up too early. However, even if it is in your best interests to be treated for this disorder, you won’t actually be missing out on too much sleep, as you are probably managing to reclaim some sleep time in the morning, for example, if your problem is being able to fall asleep at bedtime. In addition, there are other pathologies, such as apnoea, hypersomnia (daytime sleepiness), restless legs syndrome or parasomnia (sleepwalking, nightmares, etc.).
Yes, comfort is very important. The choice of a mattress is an extremely individual matter. Somet imes spouses have
Can a more comfortable bed also improve the quality of our sleep?
different needs and desires for comfort; if this is the case, it is better to have two different mattresses. An unsuitable mattress, which does not provide sufficient support, may aggravate underlying problems (back pain, neck pain) and therefore disturb the continuity of sleep. Even in the absence of an underlying disease, an uncomfortable mattress that is not suited to the sleeper's morphology (too “ soft ” or too “ firm ” ) can disrupt sleep and cause broken rest or micro- awakenings. The thermal comfort of the bedding also plays an important role: the mattress must be able to evacuate moisture, otherwise night sweats may occur.
If, on a continuous basis, for more than three months, you have dif ficulty falling asleep or staying asleep and
If we feel tired, when should we start seeking medical advice?
It is now known that insomnia doubles the risk of experiencing a depressive disorder. Indeed, it is important to know that not only our needs, but also the “ architecture ” , i.e. the quality of our sleep, change as we age.
What are the repercussions of a lack of sleep on our minds? You say that our sleep evolves over the course of our lifetime.
this happens more than three times a week, or if you experience excessive tiredness or decreases in performance during the day, it is reasonable to seek advice. Sometimes there may be organic disorders such as those of the thyroid gland. If this is not enough, you can consult a sleep centre, which will carry out a more extensive assessment by analysing the different stages of rest in order to propose the most suitable treatment. In this instance, we are talking about people who suffer from pathologies that affect their sleep. For others, it is possible to improve the quality of their sleep by simply encouraging them to listen to their body's needs more attentively.
Physiologically, the deep slow wave sleep phases become shorter. In my consultations, I frequently observe that people estimate their need for sleep based on their past. They will therefore try to get the same amount of sleep in retirement, even though they don't need as much.
We cannot, simply by our own will, change our physiological needs! Look at the biological circadian rhythm (the sleep-wake rhythm that marks the daily life of most animals and plants): it is a widely observable reality. We are made to be active or passive. Sleeping cannot be equated with laziness; it is necessary for recovery.
For Tim Cook, the head of Apple, sleep is "something that losers do". Many other leaders point to their short nights as the reason for their success. Can't we save sleep time to perform better?
Start by identifying the length of sleep that suits you best; intuitively, you may find that
How can you train yourself to sleep better?
eight hours is your ideal average. So make sure you give yourself that ideal daily rest time. And two hours before going to bed, avoid screens or stimulating activities. Biologically, the secretion of a hormone that helps us sleep, melatonin, must begin two hours before falling asleep. If you still want to enjoy watching a relaxing TV series, do so with orange glasses that protect you from blue light. You can also pay attention to your diet. Avoid eating too much fat too late, as this may disturb your sleep.
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HEALTH
You can feel really bad. It signif icantly impairs our reaction time and increases
What are the risks of not getting enough sleep?
OUR NEEDS, AND ALSO “THE ARCHITECTURE”, OR QUALITY OF OUR SLEEP CHANGE AS WE AGE PHYSIOLOGICALLY, THE DEEP SLOWWAVE SLEEP PHASES BECOME SHORTER.
the risk of accidents. Our cognitive abilities will also be affected. If you deprive yourself of your physiological needs, you will decrease your ability to remember things. You will clearly evolve below your natural capacity, consistently. I would never recommend that anyone shortens their nights to increase their levels of efficiency!
Peop l e a r e becomi ng increasingly aware of the importance of getting a good night's sleep and the health risks associated with poor sleep. I used to get questions
In the past, your patients sometimes consulted you to reduce their sleep time. This is no longer the case. How do you explain this?
Many of these gadgets aim to judge the quality of sleep by analysing the phases of sleep. Without putting electrodes on the head, this
More and more technologies are available on the market to monitor our sleep. Are these "sleep techs" useful?
from my patients about how sleep is broken down into phases, with the intention of taking medication to stay awake; I don't get any such requests any more. Now my patients are mainly interested in reducing levels of fatigue and improving their performance.
is impossible. Some of my patients come to me with the sleep phases that their watch has recorded. But this can only measure movement or lack of movement; it doesn’t yet mean that the patient was in a particular sleep phase. Other devices measure heart rate; but this too is approximate. On the other hand, other technologies such as sensors can be used to confirm that someone is suffering from snoring, which may explain some disorders. As for connected mattresses, once apnoea has been diagnosed, they can be used to treat it by temporarily raising the sleeper when snoring occurs.
I f you depr i ve yoursel f chronically, the lack builds up. But the brain and our body have an enormous capacity to recover. One study showed that after eleven days of sleep deprivation, the subjects recovered within three nights. There is a difference between taking it when recommended by a doctor and when it is self- medicated. A few years ago,
Does a lack of sleep really accumulate or is it enough to get a few 'normal' nights in a row to restore some balance?
What do you think about taking melatonin to restore sleep?
Yes, there is a risk of suffering from orthosomnia, a disorder closely associated wi th connected objects, which is
Don’t we risk no longer sleeping well simply through trying too hard?
the European Community authorised the free sale of melatonin. In Switzerland, it can only be obtained on prescription. Melatonin is a very effective hormone with very few side effects. However, if we take it in a way that is not adapted to our biological rhythm, we risk suffering even more. It is essential that a doctor has analysed how an individual’s internal clock functions.
affecting more and more people. It is the obsession with sleeping well. The name of this disease was coined in 2017, at the same time as the democratization of these connected objects tracking sleep. It is inspired by orthorexia, which is the obsessive quest for healthy eating. However, we cannot influence our sleep by our own will alone, as it is managed solely by the brain. However, we can adapt our behaviour, use common sense and, in many cases, our sleep will respond favourably. But there is no need for exaggerated behaviour which risks creating anxiety that will certainly disrupt sleep and becoming a new and perverse search for performance.
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FIND YOUR INNER STRENGTH
WITH GOOD SLEEP
NUTRITION
TELL MEWHAT YOU EAT AND I’LLTELL YOU HOWYOU SLEEP
Our lifestyles have caused us to eat the wrong way: we eat too much, too fast, too raw, out of season and at the wrong time. All these factors can affect the quality of our nights. Specialist advice to restore harmony and balance to our food and sleep.
Text - Sylvie Ulmann, Photo - copyright free
Whether t h e y a r e nutritionists, specialists in Chinese medicine or Ayurveda, they are unanimous on three points. To maximise your chances of getting a good night's sleep, you should eat at set times to give your body a sleep-wake rhythm, avoid overeating in the evening, which is just common sense, and eat the right foods at the right time. Aline Corcelle, a nutritionist at the Efficium centre in Geneva, explains this last point in more
secretion, we should give preference to “vegetable proteins in the evening, with semi-wholegrain or wholegrain cereals, or lean meat such as poultry or white fish. Animal proteins should be consumed in the morning and at lunchtime,” recommends Aline Corcelle. An English breakfast, with its eggs, is very good. Meat - especially red meat, including duck breast - and fatty fish feature on the lunch menu. Banish that little salad that you quickly swallow perched
NUTRITIONISTS’ TIPS FOR GOOD SLEEP
1) Linden blossom or camomile tea for sleep, lavender for stress. You can even add a little honey, unless you've already had a square of chocolate for dessert - beware of too much sugar! 2) Omega 3 Activating the secretion of neurotransmitters is good, promoting their transit in the brain is even better. However, 60% of the mass of this organ is made up of fatty acids, 70% of which are the famous Omega 3s. For example, an oily fish for lunch is fine - take a tin of sardines and some leftover vegetables with you to the office. In addition to oily fish (salmon, herring, mackerel, tuna, sardines, sea bream, arctic char, pink trout, etc.), rapeseed, camelina and walnut oils, chia and flax seeds and eggs from grass-fed hens are excellent sources of omega 3. cinnamon cocoa or the famous “golden milk”, milk blended with turmeric and honey that is all the rage on social networks. Finally, in times of stress, a supply of magnesium can make a difference, not forgetting iron, an essential cofactor in the synthesis of neurotransmitters and often in short supply in women of childbearing age.
on the corner of your desk. Secondly, the
detai l : “Sleep is l i n ke d t o t w o
time of day we eat also plays a role in the quality of our sleep. Eating less than two hours before going to bed can compromise our ability to fall asleep and can cause us to wake up
neurotransmitters that depend on our diet. The first is dopamine, which affects the quality of sleep; it is secreted from protein intake at the beginning of the day and
its precursor is tyrosine.” Withdrawal symptoms include restless nights, waking up early or at night, feeling like you haven't slept enough. On the other hand, another neurotransmitter promotes sleep: serotonin, which is secreted mainly at the end of the day and whose dietary precursor is another amino acid, tryptophan. “Serotonin is itself the precursor of melatonin, the true sleep hormone, whose secretion starts with the drop in luminosity,” explains the specialist. Carnivorous at lunch, vegetarian in the evening Both of these neurotransmitters depend on our diet. To balance their
during the night. This time it’s the liver which is to blame: “Eating too much fat or too heavily makes this organ, which is responsible for absorbing fat, work very hard. There is also a risk of acid A small amount of sugar is also welcome in the second half of the day, at about 4pm. for example, in the form of fruit or perhaps indulge in a square of chocolate after supper: raising blood sugar levels helps people fall asleep. Our mothers and grandmothers knew this, encouraging us to drink a glass of warm milk before going to bed. A more contemporary and trendy version is reflux,” warns Aline Corcelle. Sugar to sweeten our nights
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RUBRIQUE N TRITION
CHINESE MEDICINE: EATING WELL FOR A LONG AND HEALTHY LIFE
CHINESE MEDICINE TIPS FOR GOOD SLEEP
1) Flower teas, which are sedative and soothing.Try light and delicate rose petals. 2) Take care of your feet before bedtime: give them a nice warm bath with salt, then massage them, especially targeting the first point of the kidney meridian.
“ In Chinese medicine, each individual is considered to be the genetic result of the combination of their father and mother. We inherit their health capital. And, like all inheritance, it is not distributed fairly. To live a long and healthy life, you have to make your capital work, “ says Antoine Wegmüller, acupuncturist and practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine in Lausanne. Nutrition plays a key role in this approach: eating well helps to supplement the body. Each person makes his or her own dietary choices based on their needs and body type. Our physical activity also plays a role (a lumberjack does not have the same energy needs as someone working in an office), as well as the season - local, seasonal and ripe food should be chosen in preference. Hot, cooked foods are also preferred as they are easier to digest - raw vegetables cause gas and drowsiness as they require a lot of effort from the body to break them down. Chinese medicine also classifies foods according to their flavour, which has a function - spiciness makes you sweat, for example - as well as their temperament - hot or cold - and finally their tropism - their effects on the organs or meridians on which they act in the body.
Long live the Swiss dinner! As a basic pr inciple, Antoine Wegmüller recommends the following: “ To get a good night's sleep, you should eat ‘à la suisse’, ideally around 5 or 6 pm. Socially, we can push this limit to 7 p.m., but beyond that, sleep is likely to be disturbed, ” he summarises. In the evening, avoid red meat and all heart tonics such as alcohol or spices. In the morning, don't go hungry and eat your main meal of the day at midday - again, don't eat a sandwich whilst hovering over your computer keyboard...
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NUTRITION
AYURVEDA: HARMONISING BODY AND MIND
In Ayurveda, a traditional medicine based on Indian philosophy, body, mind and spirit are considered to form an inseparable whole. Acting on one of these aspects necessarily influences the others. This whole is also a microcosm that is in constant interaction with the world - the macrocosm. Everything around us, everything we consume is made up of the same elements: ether, air, water, fire and earth. Three vital energies, called doshas, stem from the association of these elements. The principle of mobility (vata) is made of ether and air; that of transformation (pitta), of fire and water; and that of structure (kapha) is composed of water and earth. Another central element is the digestive fire (agni), which allows us to absorb food, emotions and information. Illnesses of the body or soul can have many origins, explains Dr. Simone Hunziker, a general practitioner specialising in Ayurveda: “Either they are related to an excess of one or more doshas and/or to a disturbance of agni, our digestive fire. In the case of sleep disturbances, we first check that they are not the result of another problem, such as pain from rheumatism or acid reflux. If this is the case, the first step is to treat that condition.” Too much vata can kill sleep “If this disorder is not secondary to a pathology, it is usually related to an excess of vata. So we need to focus on foods and activities that can reduce it,” says Dr. Hunziker. This is easier said than done, because, unfortunately, vata is a dominant principle in our daily lives: “We are bombarded with information, we live at a totally irregular pace, we eat cold and raw food quickly while talking... All these factors increase vata," she says. The first step is to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The second step is
AYURVEDIC TIPS FOR GOOD SLEEP
1) Chew. “It stimulates digestion and satisfies all the senses.This is considered to be the second phase of the digestion process.The first is the cooking of food and the third takes place in the stomach," says Dr. Simone Hunziker. 2) Opt for foods that soothe vata. They have a predominantly sweet, salty and acidic taste. Astringent, bitter and pungent flavours have the opposite effect - they increase vata - and should therefore be consumed in moderation. Starches, wheat, rice, oats and quinoa are all good, so are vegetables (watch out for leaves and cabbage), ripe and seasonal fruit, including tomatoes, and milk and dairy products, if you are able to digest them.
to eat foods that soothe vata: they are smooth, moist, warm and cooked - the exact opposite of this principle, which is characterised by cold and dryness. “ Vegetable soup with rice or pasta in the evening is ideal - that doesn't mean you can't eat bread and cheese, but in small quantities. And a glass of red wine - just one! - is also recommended to soothe vata ” , summarizes Dr. Hunziker. Finally, in order not to smother or diminish our agni, our digestive fire, we should choose the time when this fire is at its AND RAW FOOD QUICKLY WHILE TALKING... ” “WE ARE BOMBARDED WITH INFORMATION, WE LIVE AT A TOTALLY IRREGULAR PACE, WE EAT COLD
peak to eat our main meal: between noon and 2 p.m. These few adjustments can really make a difference," says the specialist.
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YOUR WELL-BEING, OUR INSPIRATION
PORTRAIT
EVEN WHEN HE DREAMS, HE STILL SMELLS AND FRAGRANCES CREATES
Sleep as he conceived it as a signature scent for Elite smells of rose and musk. Able to dream and smell in his sleep, Daniel André is one of the country's rare perfumers. And one of the greatest in the world. Text and photo - Sophie Franklin
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PORTRAIT
Daniel André is a creative p e r f u m e r who works for several luxury brands and changes horizon with each order. We meet with him in his laboratory in Geneva.
The one that immediately comes to mind is a childhood memory: the smell of cut
What is your first olfactory memory?
grass when I was playing on the lawn as a child. I can also remember the smell of my grandmother, yet I really didn't know her very well. Of all our senses, the olfactory memory is the most precise and conveys the most emotions. It immediately places us in a very specific sensory and emotional context. We all have our Proustian madeleine cake... Having the chance to open bottles in a perfumer's laboratory is like a session of psychoanalysis and brings back moments of life that have touched us to the depths of our being. It is reactivating memories that belong to us alone, that have marked us in a positive or negative way.
Yes, it can convey a message a n d e v e n v a l u e s i n a completely different way to traditional marketing. By
Does the smell of a brand, its olfactory signature, also address our sensitive being?
appealing to our sense of smell, emotion is guaranteed. For Elite, the smell had to evoke realities such as the well-being that results from a good night's sleep and also comfort. But I immediately noticed that what was also important for Elite was the way of receiving people, the kindness... respect for the customer. It was also necessary to convey the work of the artisans behind these beautiful products; I was inspired by all of this.
In olfactory language, floral notes, for example, evoke wel l -being and nature.
How do you translate such ideas or values into smells?
Woody notes can convey the notion of traditional manufacturing. Then it's like a music score: the formula has to sound good... and everyone has to feel good about it. And then, of course, you have to add a bit of character so that it is recognisable... The most important thing is that the smell should not be aggressive or overpowering for the recipient; it should be subtle, refined and very soft ...
Lavender is known for its relaxing properties. For my daughters, mandarin worked
Can smells help us fall asleep?
very well. We can also imagine olfactory alarm clocks by designing a scent for the end of the night, when sleep is lighter, which would allow us to wake up gently.
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PORTRAIT
Just as some musicians dream of music, I dream of smells. It can be scents I have smelled before or that
And you say you dream of smells; tell us more about that...
I imagine. I have trained so much in olfactory mental imagery - trying to think of a smell to actually smell it - that today it comes to me completely naturally. Everyone can practice thinking about a smell: imaging research has shown that this ability is the result of training.
All the time! Every day, I do my scales, I train myself to recognise and rediscover bottles. Even if I've already
Do you have a perfume in mind that you want to create?
breathed in the same product 1000 or 2000 times, I still hope to be surprised! We are used to smelling something and thinking that it is just a smell. But in fact, it is a composition of several tens or hundreds of molecules. We imagine a smell as being in one dimension. But in fact it is a volume that has its own unique shape. When you turn it, you can see its rough edges: they allow you to make the connection between the various raw materials. This is even how they are put together... how they are blended.
I had a predisposition to smell, there's no doubt about it; but it's mostly a question of training. I was
Did you have a predisposition to be a 'nose'?
lucky enough to visit Givaudan in Geneva one day. One of the perfumers at the time gave an extraordinary presentation which made all of us, students as we were, want to enter this profession. At that time, Givaudan was the only “ nose ” school in the world. I was lucky enough to be accepted as one of three students in a class that rarely had any openings. What I liked was the crossover between the scientific and artistic worlds. I had an excellent and fascinating scientific education, but there was something missing, I couldn't see myself being a chemical engineer all my life. I didn't like it. I was always what I called a fake scientist. I had my head in the stars and I was asked to have it on paper, in formulas. This job has allowed me to be in both places at the same time...
OF ALL OUR SENSES, OLFACTORY MEMORY IS THE MOST PRECISE AND CONVEYS THE MOST EMOTIONS
ELITE'S PERFUME
Les clefs de Morphée, the olfactory signature developed by perfumer Daniel André for Elite, is a citrusy (through the extraction of citrus zest), floral, woody and iridescent fragrance. It contains verbena, bergamot, pepper, jasmine, iris and cotton (cotton balsam to give an impression of softness). In addition, there are musks, coumarin (an extract of medicinal plants), water lily leaves and a leaf that grows at night, which Daniel André calls "moon flower".
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MEET
World-renowned British chef Heston Blumenthal has just bought himself an Elite bed. The man who we saw this spring on M6's “ Top Chef ” and who explained that bananas go as well with parsley as strawberries do with black olives - thanks to a basic flavour molecule they have in common - tells us about his vision of sleep. Not commonplace!
Text - Sophie Franklin, Photo - John Scott Blackwell
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MEET
Heston Blumenthal is one of the fathers of molecular cuisine and was the first to use liquid nitrogen in the kitchen to invent a caramelised apple in 1998, served cold on the outside and hot on the inside. In his restaurant, to awaken the senses, which he views as triggers of emotions, he makes his guests taste cockles (small common shellfish) and razor clams (other seafood) with an iPod whilst at the same time listening to the sounds of the sea... Having a conversation with Blumenthal forces us to take a step back in order to get closer to ourselves, to our condition as “sensitive” beings. Make yourself comfortable for a journey into the mind of a brilliant creator!
I have been working for Fat Duck for 25 years. People see it as a restaurant that works very well: techniques, recipes, staging, tables,
You often refer to the senses and emotions; how do they come into play in your cooking?
awards... all this is just the outside. For 25 years, my real obsession has been what people will feel inside. In order for them to experience as many emotions as possible, I aim to activate all the senses in parallel, such as touch, smell and hearing, and I even try to play with the vestibular system, the system of balance. It seems that today our greatest freedom is being able to choose our emotions. It's really nice to know that! But, in my opinion, it is difficult to really feel at ease with making a choice of this kind. To succeed in this kind of “ self-knowledge ” work, you must, of course, be sleeping well. A good night's sleep has magical effects and really contributes to our well-being. And if you have to choose, I suggest that you opt for a good mattress over a more powerful car or an expensive holiday on the other side of the world...
I don't even think about the back pain that prompted me to buy an Elite mattress, that's for sure! But I’ll come
Let me ask you a very intimate question: do you sleep well?
back to that... The most intimate relationship we have is with ourselves. It is the most difficult, but also the most rewarding. Our physiological needs, such as food and sleep, must be met. If we do it consciously and in the best possible way, our relationship with ourselves is a quality relationship. We can sleep or sleep very well... Just as we can eat or eat very well and experience incredible emotions as a result. Chemistry shows us that everything is interconnected, including energy. Certainly what we drink or how we sleep causes vibrations that will also affect our daily lives. So my bed is probably the most important object in my house and the one that has the most impact on my daily life!
TOP CHEF
A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO TASTE AND FLAVOURS
Today ' s sc i ence expl a i ns that our sleep functions like the creation of a file, with
With better sleep, are your senses more alert?
The "frostiest of the great chefs" is what food journalist Véronique Zbinden called him in Le Temps when Heston Blumenthal was named "Best Chef in the World" by Restaurant magazine. Chef and owner ofThe Fat Duck restaurant (three Michelin stars), he is also chef at the Dinner restaurants at the Mandarin Oriental in London (two Michelin stars) and in Melbourne, Australia. Renowned for his scientific approach to cooking, he is considered one of the leading figures in molecular gastronomy and foodpairing. In 2021, he took part in the M6 showTop Chef, which featured a test where candidates had to combine two unlikely foods. He has worked for many years on understanding the mechanisms of taste, both with the University of Nottingham and with researchers at Firmenich. At the same time he is carrying out research into experimental psychology. He is also an honorary member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
different cycles allowing us not only to regenerate, but also to tidy up and clarify our various preoccupations of the day. In this way, we rest our day body and live our night body to be reborn each morning: this is really a most precious thing. I used to have to lie in a certain position and when I turned over during the night, I would be in pain and wake up. Today, when I wake up, I don’t want to get up: my bed is so comfortable! When I wake up, I usually do some meditation and stretching. I have also noticed that the time it takes to be full of energy when I get out of bed is much shorter than before. There is no doubt that my new bed has contributed to my well-being.
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BEDDING
Choosing the right duvet or pillow is essential for optimising comfort in bed and ensuring a good night’s sleep. In store, our specialist advisers will ask you about your sleeping habits to find the right duvet for you. Choosing a duvet is not easy! While it should keep the body warm, it should also be light and allow the body's perspiration (500ml per night) to escape. Ideally, it should be both warm and light. Goose down is considered the best product. It is lightweight, silent and odourless. But many alternatives are available. Here are some questions about your sleeping habits that will help you choose the right duvet for you. HOWTO CHOOSE YOUR DUVET
Which heat index should you choose? The risks associated with a duvet that is too warm: Being too hot causes many micro-awakenings. It is therefore essential to find the ideal duvet to maximise your comfort whilst you sleep. It is the weight, i.e. the quantity of feathers, that will determine the heat index of the duvet. The risks associated with a duvet that is not warm enough: Being too cold does not allow the body to relax and fall asleep. While some people are content with a light duvet all year round, others have to change their duvet with the passing seasons. If your home is not very warm in winter and is very hot in summer, for example, you should have two different duvets: one for summer and one for winter. Another option is to use two duvets that can be combined with press studs, which can be used for all four seasons, the cooler one for summer and the second one for mid-season. Combined, they offer the perfect warmth index during the winter. For those who maintain a constant temperature in their home, as is often the case in Switzerland, it is possible to make do with a single “ all-season ” duvet.
Do you prefer a light or heavy duvet? Here too, preferences vary: while some prefer to feel the weight of their duvet, others need lightness. More feathers will increase the heat index, but also the weight. If you are looking for maximum lightness, choose a cashmere duvet (warmer) or pure Tussah silk (cooler). Do you sweat a lot? A cashmere duvet is an excellent solution for those who do not want down or synthetic materials. Filled with 100% pure cashmere, which is very light, very soft and highly absorbent, it provides remarkable heat regulation properties. Just like our heat-regulating duvet with innovative technology, originally developed for NASA, which regulates the temperature and humidity balance proactively. Do you suffer from allergies? Our Tussah silk duvet is very light and soft and is a good alternative for allergy sufferers. We can also offer you other duvets with anti-allergic synthetic fibres.
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BEDDING
HOWTO CHOOSE YOUR PILLOW
Depending on your mattress Pay attention to the elasticity of your mattress, which plays an key role in the choice of firmness and thickness of your pillow. The softer your mattress, the less thick your pillow will need to be to keep your head in line with your neck and spine. Conversely, the firmer your mattress, the more space you need to fill between the mattress and the back of your neck. You can consider firmer, thicker pillows. Depending on your sleeping position Do you sleep on your stomach? Choose a very soft pillow to keep your vertebrae aligned and to prevent your swallowing muscles and windpipe from being under strain. Depending on the softness of your mattress, you can even manage without a pillow. Do you sleep on your back? Your pillow should preferably be firm to ensure that your neck is well supported. Ideally, your head should sink a third into the pillow. Do you sleep on your side? Your pillow should be soft and fill the gap between your shoulder and your head. In this case, choose a pillow with a side strip (see photo), which will not crush during the night and will offer you the necessary support. Do you suffer from neck pain? Various orthopaedic pillows (half-core foam, half-down or Ergogel) will fit and support your head ideally.
QUESTIONS / ANSWERS Can goose feather duvets and pillows be machine washed? Yes, at 60°C, but as little as possible. It is better to protect your pillow with an additional protective under pillowcase. When should you replace your duvet? A duvet should be changed every 3 to 5 years, and a pillow every 3 years, because the feathers settle and lose their hold. Where do the feathers come from? All our products have the "Swiss Guaranty VSB" label created by the Swiss Bedding Manufacturers Association. It includes Downpass certification and guarantees that animals are not plucked live.
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BEDDING FINDTHE RIGHT
MATTRESS FOR YOU
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BEDDING
To help you find the best mattress for your body type and sleeping habits, we welcome you to our Elite Gallery. In these stores located throughout Switzerland and abroad, our specialists will provide you with personal advice.
Since 2017, Elite has been developing its own network of boutiques to offer you personalised advice. “This support is essential, ” explains François Pugliese, CEO of Elite, “ because choosing a mattress is 80% technical and 20% emotional.” The fifteen or so models created by the company are available in three different comfort levels, from firm to supportive. The importance of personalised advice It is therefore essential to get advice from someone who knows the range inside out when you’re buying a mattress. Our customer advisers' expertise lies in quickly identifying the situation and selecting the two or three models that are likely to suit you. Fourteen Elite Gallery across Switzerland To be as close as possible to our customers, since the beginning of the pandemic, we have opened no less than six Elite Gallery, in Geneva, Crans-Montana and Saint-Moritz in 2020, and Basel, Bern and Lugano in 2021. There are 14 boutiques throughout Switzerland and three abroad (Paris, Milan and Shangai ).
Mattress comfort is more than just a sweet dream According to sleep doctors, mattress comfort is probably the first step in giving you the best chance of getting a good night's sleep. One of its qualities must be to adapt to your morphology and not the opposite. Supporting the body point by point, it must allow an optimal alignment of the spine to avoid lumbar or back pain. In fact, pressure points disappear (shoulders, hips) thus avoiding micro-awakenings. A mattress that is too firm will even cause neck pain or tingling and inflammation and even polyarthritis.
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Support: an objective measure... Mattress comfort is purely subjective: some prefer a firmer bed, others prefer more flexibility. Support, on the other hand, is an objective measure. Your mattress provides a surface for your body to rest on. It should provide sufficient support for the lumbar region, while the pressure points of the knees, hips, shoulders and head require more flexibility. If, despite a good night's sleep, you feel stiffness in your body, it is because your bedding does not provide adequate support.
Sustainable sleep Elite mattresses are certified European Ecolabel: the promise to protect resources and our customers. In concrete terms, this means that all stages of production are rigorously controlled to ensure sustainability and quality. We carefully select the most noble, ecological, sustainable and local raw materials to ensure the quality of your sleep while preserving your health and that of our planet. The wool used to make the mattresses comes from Swiss sheep, for example. The wood we use to make our box springs also comes from Swiss forests. In our stores, you can admire our beds, which, from the headboard to the mattress and the slatted base, are entirely made locally by our artisans in our workshops in Aubonne, Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva.
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WE CARE ABOUT
TRANSFORMING YOUR SLEEP
BEDDING “PLEAT”, A SOPHISTICATED BED "Pleat", the latest addition to the Elite collection, takes its inspiration from the fascinating pleating of certain haute couture dresses. For classic and elegant style.
Every detail is carefully considered and showcases the unique know-how of our master upholsterers. This bed was designed by designers Fuhua Wang and Weichih, who met at the Elite Design Award 2018 competition and graduated from the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan.
DELICATE, YET BOLD
The headboard features refined pleating. The fine wooden frame contrasts in its hardness with the softness and delicacy of the fabric for a classic, delicate, yet bold result. This creation is available for sale now. The size, type of fabric and type of wood are left to the customer's discretion.
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LITERIE BEDDING
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ENVIRONMENT
“WE MUST PUT AN END TO PUNITIVE ECOLOGY!” Can our society continue on the path of growth without running head first into the wall? The philosopher Luc Ferry is convinced it can, but it won’t happen without a paradigm shift. We met with him to discuss this issue, which is also the subject of his latest book, “Les Sept Ecologies” (The Seven Ecologies). Text - Sylvie Ulmann, Photo - Gabrielle Ferry
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ENVIRONMENT
ELITE, A PIONEER IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Yes, because if done properly, growth and consumption could be non-pol luting and even de-polluting. As circular economy theorists say, “ nature has no bins ” ,
Luc Ferry, your latest book is good: it talks about ecology, but without making the consumer in each of us feel guilty!
Elite is often cited as an example of a Swiss company committed to the environment through the circular economy. François Pugliese, its director, was able to implement a new business model in 2010 to cope with the Euro crisis and the strong Swiss franc. Smart Lease enabled hoteliers to have immediate access to high quality mattresses or full beds and to pay only on the basis of the occupancy of each bed. "With this leasing principle, it is up to us as manufacturers to design very high quality mattresses and beds that will last as long as possible; otherwise we will lose out financially. Unlike programmed obsolescence - which the public is all too often subjected to - I want Elite to be part of the change in consumption patterns that is currently taking place. ”
everything is recycled in nature. Industrial products should now be designed on this model, so that they go from “ cradle to cradle ” and not “ cradle to grave ” . The circular economy offers an allegory that I like, that of the “ generous cherry tree ” : it gives away many more cherries than it needs to reproduce, thus feeding animals and humans. Its overripe fruits will enrich the soil... Nothing to do with degrowth models!
As Nobel Prize winner William Nordhaus, one of the founders of the eco-modernist movement, explains, infinite growth is entirely possible in a finite world, provided
Growth is the engine (or at least one of the engines) of our society. But how can you be an entrepreneur and an environmentalist?
that companies finally implement some truly innovative ideas. Those of the circular economy, for example, but also the decoupling of the quest for progress and the destruction of the environment through the negative impact that human activities generate. Decoupling and recycling are the two pillars of a non-punitive ecology.
Wind turbines are turning our mountains, countryside and coastline into industrial landscapes. They spoil and distort them. This alone should be enough for environmentalists to reject them. But there is more: they are very far from producing
To consume, you need energy; which source should you rely on? Because, as you point out, the energies that seem to be the cleanest, such as wind turbines, are far from being as clean as we imagine...
No, not at all, because we must break away from the disastrous linear logic of the first industrial revolutions. The o l d cur rents of political ecology, whether revolutionary or reformist, are all rooted in the logic of
We regularly hear that all we need to do to get out of the rut we’re in is to apply common sense - consume less, opt for regional products... Will that be enough?
perfectly decarbonised energy. Indeed, as with electric cars, their overall environmental cost must be taken into account, i.e. their entire life cycle, from manufacture to dismantling. A study by the University of Melbourne in 2014 demonstrated that their cost, in terms of CO2 emissions per kilowatt hour, is ten times higher than that of nuclear power, which is currently by far the best truly decarbonised energy.
punishment. “Sustainable development” is too often a soft form of degrowth: short flights are banned, certain advertisements are banned, fuel prices are increased, certain cars are penalised, but in the end, these “common sense” measures do not have the necessary impact in terms of global warming.
Luc Ferry is a philosopher and former French minister. According to him, “to speak of ecology in the singular today makes little sense, as the movements claiming to be ecological are so numerous and opposed to each other”. In his book, he analyses the ideas, convictions and proposals that drive them and proposes an eco-modernist alternative to punitive ecology. His vision of the world outlines a great and inspiring project for a humanity that is reconciled with itself and with its planet.
It all depends on the products we are talking about. Without even taking the example of works of art or jewellery, there are objects to which we are legitimately attached. For others, such as cars, the
Is a shift to a society where we sell services rather than goods the way forward? This would at least solve the problem of programmed obsolescence, for example.
emphasis should be on use rather than ownership, and the possibility of disassembly for complete recycling should be designed upstream of industrial production.
Les sept écologies: Pour une alternative au catastrophisme antimoderne, by Luc Ferry, l'Observatoire editions, April 2021, 273 p.
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