The Sleep Geek, aka James Wilson, has been a regular columnist in Big Furniture Group. This month, we sat down with the sleep expert to find out more about his journey and how the industry can make the most of his expertise.
Starting with the most obvious question: How did you become a sleep expert?
I have been around sleep products all my life. In fact, one of the earliest things I remember reading was Cabinet Maker. Yes, I was probably a slightly unusual child! My grandpa, Frank, founded Duckers, the family business with his brother Maurice. After the business was sold to Airsprung, my parents, Janet and Mick, built a successful business as furniture sales agents and importers through Furniture Selection. Following a degree in marketing, I joined the family trade.
What always fascinated me was that the bed industry often seemed to talk more about furniture than sleep. At the same time, my interest was personal. Despite growing up in a family immersed in the sleep industry, I was genetically a very poor sleeper myself.
That experience led me to launch a specialist retailer called We Love Sleep. While running the business, we employed a sleep expert. Unfortunately, I found much of the advice available at the time patronising, overly complicated and disconnected from the realities of people’s lives. I thought there had to be a better way.
I initially trained as a children’s sleep practitioner before undertaking further training in adult sleep because I was increasingly working with teenagers and adults. My career then took an unexpected turn when I was selected as one of the experts on Channel 4’s The Secrets of Sleep. What I realised was, that my strength was not simply understanding sleep, but explaining it in a way most people could understand and actually use.
Today, I work as The Sleep Geek, helping organisations, sports teams, brands, retailers and manufacturers understand sleep better. My work ranges from education and coaching through to product development, standards, training and public policy. Whether somebody needs reassurance, coaching, clinical support or simply a better mattress, pillow or duvet, my goal is always the same: helping people access the right support for their situation.
James has many more strings to his sleep bow. What’s Frankly?
The organisation I co-founded is Frankly, a social enterprise named after my grandpa Frank and our belief in taking a frank, no-nonsense approach to sleep. Frankly exists to improve sleep outcomes for as many people as possible. As a social enterprise, we reinvest 50% of our profits into supporting communities that would not normally have access to sleep support, education or services. Our work is delivered through several areas:
The Sleep Geek
As The Sleep Geek, I work with brands, retailers and manufacturers on education, marketing, media and product development. Previous projects have included work with organisations such as Specsavers, Dyson and Premier Inn.
I coach individuals in helping them sleep better, with an evidence informed, individual led approach. I am passionate about this work, and I am currently working towards a Masters in Coaching and Mentoring. I am also a regular media contributor, as well as appearing on The Secrets of Sleep, BBC Breakfast, ITV’s This Morning, BBC Radio 1’s Life Hacks and BBC local radio stations across the UK. (And of course, Big Furniture Group!).
Sleep Geek Certified
We provide specialist training and certification for retailers through our Sleep Geek Certified programme. This helps retailers develop deeper knowledge of sleep and gives consumers confidence that they are receiving informed, evidence-informed advice rather than simply a sales pitch. We also certify products and services that meet our standards for credibility, transparency and commitment to helping people sleep better.
Sleepunity
Through Sleepunity, we work with organisations, sports teams, public sector bodies and healthcare providers. Our team includes specialists in areas such as children’s sleep, neurodiversity, sleep disorders and behavioural sleep support. We help organisations improve the sleep and wellbeing of their workforce, customers, patients and communities through our training schemes and health and wellbeing services. Our clients have included the NHS, the Department of Transport, Marks & Spencer, Under Armour, West Ham United, The FA and many hundreds of other organisations across the world.
Standards, Research and Product Development
We also support organisations in developing standards, qualifications, products and services. Our work has included projects involving mattresses, pillows, duvets, medical sleep technology, sleep tracking, health and wellbeing programmes, coaching frameworks and public-sector initiatives. Ultimately, our role is to connect the worlds of sleep education, coaching, healthcare and products so that people can access the support that is right for them.
How else do you get involved with the beds and mattress industry?
I am a passionate advocate for the bed and mattress industry and the important role it plays in helping people sleep better. Too often, mattresses, pillows and duvets are discussed as pieces of furniture when they should be viewed as part of the sleep and health conversation.
Through my Sunstack, Sleep This Week, I try to bring together the many different worlds that influence sleep, including: Beds, mattresses and sleep products; Sleep research; Sleep medicine; Health and wellbeing; Technology and sleep tracking; Public health and policy; Practical solutions that help people sleep better.
I believe our industry is missing an opportunity to position itself at the centre of the sleep conversation. Sleep is increasingly recognised as one of the foundations of health, yet many consumers still see our industry as one that develops products like furniture, markets them like healthcare and sells them like used cars.
The reality is very different. There are some exceptional brands, manufacturers and retailers doing genuinely innovative work. As an industry, we simply need to do a better job of telling that story and demonstrating our expertise. The mattress, pillow and duvet are often the foundation of a person’s sleep environment. We should be proud of the role we play in helping people sleep better.
What training and standard development is going on behind the sleep scenes?
Everything we do starts with the poor sleepers we work with every day. Over my career, I have supported hundreds of thousands of people through media appearances, workplace programmes, coaching, education and public engagement. That gives me a unique insight into the challenges people face and the support they actually need.
Sleep Geek Certified Retail Training was created to help retailers bridge the gap between sleep products and sleep problems. Our aim is twofold:
- To help retailers better understand the sleep challenges their customers face and connect them with the most appropriate products.
- To create a trusted signal of excellence, giving consumers confidence that they will receive knowledgeable and responsible guidance.
We are also evolving our product certification programme. Not every company can afford large-scale clinical studies, but many are genuinely committed to helping people sleep better and have strong real-world evidence that their products work.
We are therefore developing a framework that recognises different levels of evidence while maintaining credibility and transparency. At the highest level, products and services will need robust independent scientific evidence supporting specific sleep-related claims.
Our philosophy is simple: certification should mean something.
Poor sleepers are intelligent consumers. They quickly lose confidence in certifications that appear to be little more than paid endorsements. A certification scheme should not be available to everyone, nor should it be easy to achieve. Its value comes from independence, rigour and trust.
I have also been involved in helping develop the first technical standards for sleep education through CIMSPA, the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity. These standards provide an independent framework for sleep education within sport and fitness and are helping shape future qualifications and training programmes.
Can you share a success story?
One of the projects I am particularly excited about is my work with Bensons for Beds. Together, we are creating sleep content that reflects the realities of modern life. Much sleep advice can feel prescriptive, unrealistic or even guilt-inducing. Our approach is different. We focus on evidence-informed, individual-led guidance that helps people make better decisions without making them feel judged. That approach is building trust and helping people sleep better.
Perhaps the project that best represents our vision at Frankly is our work on a new sleep navigation platform. We have recently joined an NHS and university-backed innovation programme in West Yorkshire to develop technology that helps people find the right support for their sleep problems.
Not everybody with a sleep issue needs clinical intervention. Some people need reassurance. Others need education, coaching, behavioural support or a better sleep product. Some do need specialist medical care.
Our ambition is to help people navigate those options more effectively. For the bed and mattress industry, this is particularly important because it recognises that products are often a legitimate and valuable part of the solution. Mattresses, pillows and duvets deserve a place within the wider sleep support ecosystem.
Alongside this work, we are developing several new products and services, both for a new brand we hope to launch, and outside the mattress industry with a handful of some of the world’s biggest consumer brand. The products and services are informed by the insights we gain from the organisations, communities and sports teams we support. While I cannot reveal too much yet, they are designed to make sleep support more accessible, practical and impactful.
How can people or companies work with you?
Retailers or sleep brands interested in Sleep Geek Certified training or product certification can visit: www.thesleepgeek.co.uk. Organisations interested in workplace wellbeing, sleep education, coaching, training or consultancy can visit: www.sleepunity.org. Alternatively, people can contact me directly at: james@sleepunity.org. You can also follow The Sleep Geek across social media platforms, where I share practical, no-nonsense sleep advice based on helping hundreds of thousands of people improve their sleep.
Final thought…
The message I would leave readers with is this: Sleep is not about perfection. Too much sleep advice focuses on ideal routines, perfect habits and unrealistic expectations. Real people have jobs, children, caring responsibilities, health conditions, shift work, stress and busy lives.
The future of sleep support is not telling people what they should do. It is helping people understand what is realistic, achievable and appropriate for their own circumstances. That philosophy sits at the heart of everything we do at Frankly, The Sleep Geek and Sleepunity.
Better sleep should not be a luxury. It should be something everyone has access to, regardless of their background, income or circumstances.
