Рубрика: General

This is the second release of Very Olde St. Nick, and it’s a banger of a bourbon. This is the second release of Very Olde St. Nick, and it’s a banger of a bourbon.

The rise of padel, a Reebok Pump–inspired timepiece, and time spent with Michael B. Schwab all star in the issue. The rise of padel, a Reebok Pump–inspired timepiece, and time spent with Michael B. Schwab all star in the issue.

From your skin to your spine, experts explore the visible – and invisible – effects of sleeping on your back, front or side. 

According to viral claims, your sleep position matters more than you might think. They swing between alarmist (‘back sleeping causes sleep apnea’) and fearmongering (‘side sleeping leads to facial drooping and asymmetry’). While the majority veers into hyperbole, there is a more nuanced conversation worth having. 

For many, the healthiest position is the one that allows the body to relax and supports uninterrupted sleep. But while comfort is crucial, physiology still matters, says Dr Chad Eldridge, sleep and wellbeing advisor for Hästens. “Certain positions may aggravate snoring, reflux, pressure points or existing musculoskeletal concerns,” he explains. Therefore, it pays to think personally. For those snoring-prone, for example, side sleeping may be preferable. 

The relationship between sleep position and snoring – particularly in those with obstructive breathing issues or symptoms of sleep apnoea – is well-established. “Sleeping flat on the back can allow the tongue and soft tissues of the airway to relax backwards, which may narrow the airway and increase snoring or breathing disruptions,” Dr Eldridge says. Side sleeping, by contrast, “can help keep the airway more open”. Nicole Moyen, director of science and clinical research at Eight Sleep, adds that this can also reduce jaw clenching compared to back sleeping, “decreasing nighttime teeth grinding”.

See also: The Biggest Wellness Travel Trends Set to Shape 2026

There are also digestive benefits to sleeping on your side. “Gravity helps move stomach contents through more efficiently, accelerating gastric emptying and reducing bloating,” Moyen explains. And for those who are pregnant, sleeping on the left is recommended as it optimizes blood flow to the placenta, she says.

Then there’s the emerging – though yet unproven in humans – idea that side-lying may support better brain waste clearance during sleep. A 2015 rodent study found that the position enabled more efficient glymphatic clearance than sleeping on the back or stomach, including that of amyloid-beta, a protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Of course, side sleeping is not a ‘perfect’ option. “It concentrates body weight on the lateral shoulder and hip, potentially causing pain or numbness if your mattress lacks adequate pressure relief,” Moyen says. “Sleeping on the same side can also create postural imbalances over time.” For this reason, back sleeping is often considered the most spine-friendly position. Here, “weight is distributed evenly across your entire spine, which reduces pressure on any single point and allows your intervertebral discs to decompress overnight,” she goes on to explain. “For acid reflux, sleeping on your back with your head slightly elevated is particularly effective.”

See also: The 10-Hour ‘Non-Diet’ That Improves Sleep, Energy, and Metabolism

And yes, pillow wrinkles are a real thing – and one which back sleeping can help avoid. “Sleeping in a repeated position, due to the frictional forces, can lead to changes on that particular side, including an increase in the number or wrinkles on the face, neck, and décolletage,” explains founder of The Soni Clinic, Dr Ash Soni, who can normally tell at the time of a consultation which side a patient sleeps on. Still, the plastic surgeon and aesthetic injector cautions that genetics and baseline facial asymmetry also play a major role, while Moyen adds that sleep quality likely matters more than sleep position when it comes to visible signs of aging: “Poor sleep elevates cortisol, which breaks down collagen, and reduces the release of growth hormones during deep sleep, which is critical for tissue repair and skin regeneration.” In other words, when it comes to skin, great sleep on your side is better than poor sleep on your back.

If you want to change a long-standing habit, stomach sleeping is the position often flagged by sleep clinicians as the one worth addressing. As “the most mechanically demanding position for the body”, Moyen says, it places strain on the neck and lower back and can make breathing harder because the chest and diaphragm are compressed. Altering sleep patterns takes time, though, and the nervous system needs to relearn what feels comfortable and safe. To help nudge the body into a new position overnight, Dr Eldridge suggests trying physical barriers like specialist pillows and wedges, or even vibration alarms and wearable position trainers. “Expect the process to take a few weeks and try not to switch back and forth during that period, since consistency allows your body to fully adapt,” Moyen adds.

Beyond position, sleep hygiene strongly affects sleep quality. Regularity, a cool, dark and quiet environment, and reduced screen use before bed all matter. As do your mattress and pillow, adds Moyen: “sustained pressure points from a poor mattress can cause micro-awakenings you won’t consciously register, but which fragment your sleep and reduce the time spent in deep and REM stages.” Ultimately, it’s about finding the best set-up for your needs, concludes Dr Eldridge. “Better sleep posture is less about one universal product, and more about creating an environment that allows the body to remain comfortable, supported, and undisturbed throughout the night.”

The man behind many a era-defining establishment in London talked to us as he opens his latest venture, Simpson’s in the Strand. The man behind many a era-defining establishment in London talked to us as he opens his latest venture, Simpson’s in the Strand.

For Chris Mitchell, discovering Scandinavian design was a life-changing moment. Since then, the former magazine executive has set out to surround himself with exquisite mid-century pieces. 

The magazine executive-turned-design guru has just given me a tour of his newly renovated Upper East Side apartment in Manhattan, the rooms of which are laden with museum-quality furniture and objects, running the gamut from iconic to obscure, that certainly attest to his passion. But, as interiors aficionados might expect, the apartment that Mitchell shares with his wife, the editor Pilar Guzman, is nothing like a chilly museum (not even the grand Metropolitan around the corner) – not overly fussy, not chock-a-block.

The blonde wood floors and walls, the vintage pieces in sumptuous leathers, the thoughtfully illuminated cases are instead vivid, real-world expressions of ‘Patina Modern,’ the couple’s blueprint for design (and perhaps life) articulated in their 2022 book of the same name. A vision full of warmth and purpose, put together with the finest ingredients (the very best of Scandinavian modernism, for example), which are then properly used as intended and so allowed to develop the perfect patina of time. “Mid-century furniture,” as Mitchell described it in the book, “rendered in a limited palette of materials like white oak, aged brass, and bridle leather,” which, as they age, “become richer, mellower, burnished.”

See also: How to Make Collectible Furniture Work In Your Home

Mitchell, 56, who grew up outside of Chicago, says he gained an interest in design early in life – “probably inspired,” he says, “by the worlds Ralph Lauren created.” Mitchell’s father worked in advertising, so there were always magazines lying around the house, and it was an interiors column in Esquire that sparked his interest in New York apartments. “My idea of a sophisticated adult home was a loft or a modern high rise in New York,” he says, “filled with leather and chrome modernist furniture. I’m not even sure I knew who Le Corbusier or Mies van der Rohe were then, but that was the vibe I wanted.”

After studying literature at Berkeley, Mitchell came east, got a masters in publishing at NYU, and worked with Condé Nast for a generation, rising to become the chief business officer for Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and GQ. He describes meeting and moving in with Guzman when they were in their late twenties, along with discovering Scandinavian design at the time, as Damascene moments in his life, lighting his future path forward.

See also: This Designer Left Jaguar – and Now Makes Ultra-Luxury Chairs

In collecting terms, instead of following trends, Mitchell has allowed his curiosity to lead him further into his passion. “Seeing a Finn Juhl 45 chair for the first time blew my mind,” he says. “The craftsmanship, the warm-yet- modern combination – it was simply the most beautiful thing I’d seen. I didn’t know furniture could be that sculptural and chic, yet minimal.” This revelation, in about 1998, led Mitchell into a process of self-education, he says, assisted by some great dealers he met along the way.

“I fell for Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs before they became ubiquitous,” he says, “and Arne Jacobsen Egg chairs with that amazing patina of caramel leather, as well as Kaare Klint’s upholstered sofas, Poul Kjaerholm’s daybeds, and, my all-time favorite, the Borge Mogensen Spanish chair, with its saddle leather sling seat and wide oak armrests. I’ve bought more than 30 of these over the years but lost a lot of them when we sold our houses furnished.”

Mitchell, Guzman, and their family only recently relocated to the Upper East Side, after a full-scale renovation of the apartment and the sale of the beloved Brooklyn brownstone where their children were raised. But it’s already very much a home, furnished with Mitchell’s favorite pieces, and beginning to mushroom with his latest interests. “We’ve done a lot of house projects for ourselves in the past 8-10 years,” he says, “so I’ve had occasion to bring in a lot of new pieces. But I’ve also turned to smaller objects that are easier to find space for,” he says, showing me marvels by the Austrian designer Carl Auböck, and spectacular Dansk tableware. “My favorites,” he says, “are the brass vases and decanters by Pierre Forssell for the Swedish company Skultuna. His pieces are all 1970s designs; they have a swingy vibe but are also so well made, which makes them feel permanent and classic.”

Heaven Hill is dropping an older version of its fan favorite to celebrate America’s semiquincentennial. Heaven Hill is dropping an older version of its fan favorite to celebrate America’s semiquincentennial.

The Copperhead is one of 110 new vehicles Stellantis plans to launch by 2030. The Copperhead is one of 110 new vehicles Stellantis plans to launch by 2030.

Advertising and marketing legend Colleen DeCourcy’s idyllic estate spans four wooded acres hidden down a long, white-pebble driveway. Advertising and marketing legend Colleen DeCourcy’s idyllic estate spans four wooded acres hidden down a long, white-pebble driveway.

The sprawling estate in the suburb of Windermere has a grotto-style pool and private boat dock. The sprawling estate in the suburb of Windermere has a grotto-style pool and private boat dock.

Extreme fitness challenges are replacing traditional flexes. 

Some things are unattainable without putting in graft. Endurance challenges are one such thing. You can hire coaches, nutritionists, specialist trainers, mobility experts et al to hone in and sharpen skills, but you’re the one who has to cross the finish line. 

This could explain why, in recent years, some races have become status symbols in their own right. Hyrox especially has exploded onto the scene— with revenue reaching $140m in 2025, and a 1,000 percent increase in participation over the last five years, according to SBO Financial. There are claims that it will have more participants than all marathons combined in 2026, reaching over 650,000 competing athletes.

For the uninitiated, Hyrox is a lot of running mixed in with workout stations (wall balls, sled pull and push, burpee broad jumps, farmers carry, and walking lunges). In between each station, participants run 1km. This is repeated eight times. The format of the race stays the same in every location, the only differing factor is the weights based on each division. It’s largely accessible, perhaps even more so than, say, a half marathon due to the running distance, or a Crossfit competition that usually involves more skill. The result is that the point of entry is wide open. 

“I think one of the biggest reasons it’s growing so quickly is because the training style suits everyday athletes,” notes Faisal Abdalla, global Hyrox MC and trainer to some famous faces. “It’s challenging, accessible, and inclusive, whether you’re an experienced athlete or just getting started.” 

See also: Why Runners Are Falling in Love with Wine, Beer, and Whisky Regions

Whatever you make of the sport (Hyrox is rumored to stand for ‘Hybrid Rockstar’; make of that what you will), its popularity is undeniable. It’s considered a more high-end event due to the entry fee and travel, plus all the gear (Puma’s Hyrox-specific trainers are around $300). The longevity of it is yet to be seen, but for now, it’s well and truly in the spotlight — and that’s if you even manage to get a ticket. The Tampa Hyrox, which will be held on Oct 23-25, sold out in under three minutes.  

Some of the more extreme ultramarathons, such as the Ice Ultra in Swedish Lapland (230km across the Arctic Circle), carry a similar social currency. Competitors need not only the financial means to take part (the North Pole marathon has a price tag of around $25,000), but also the physical and mental resilience to endure them. The ‘Marathon Grand Slam Club,’ owned and managed by Runbuk, is a truly exclusive club — supposedly only one member for every 50 million people. To join, members must complete a marathon on all seven continents. And no, the South Shetland Islands do not count — hopefuls will have to have run on Antarctica proper. As of February this year, there are only 192 members of the club worldwide. 

Finishing these events comes with the sense of pride and accomplishment from completing a strenuous, hard-to-access race — but also undeniable bragging rights. Which explains why many people are shifting away from traditional races and toward more immersive, status-driven challenges. Oliver Wang, CEO and founder of Runbuk, explains: «People who are drawn to these challenges are already highly successful in their own fields. What makes these experiences powerful is that they place participants back into situations where not everything is under control, pushing them to adapt, stay mentally strong, and step outside their comfort zone again.»

Preparation is key, of course. And undertaking the more extreme end of the race spectrum requires effort, dedication, and a rock-solid training regime. At London’s 45 Park Lane hotel, the private training team have shifted the formulation of training programs to better suit these events, using VO2 Max testing, functional strength assessments with dynamometers and force plates to guide training blocks.

When a race includes challenging terrain and altitude, training — and the experience itself — goes beyond fitness. «Alongside race logistics and expedition operations, we have experienced coaches, endurance athletes, and alumni runners who help participants prepare physically and mentally,» says Wang. «More importantly, we have built a strong global community where runners share advice, experiences and personal growth from previous adventures. We see genuine humanity and camaraderie before, during, and after every adventure.”