22 million people in Britain woke up this morning suffering from a damaging lack of sleep.

This damning statistic is the reason why ‘sleep wellness’ and mattress brand eve sleep is launching the #RightToSleep campaign, lobbying the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice to amend The Human Rights Act 1998 to include sleep. The brand published an open letter to the duo in newspapers including Metro, as well as publishing it on a mobile billboard outside the Palace of Westminster.

As part of the mission to change the policy, eve sleep has assembled a team of experts who are producing a white paper detailing the impact of including sleep as a fundamental human right.

Lack of sleep has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, obesity and diabetes, as well as having a detrimental impact on mental health.

The sleep-factor

The campaign comes as a myriad of research has pointed to a strong correlation between using social media and having a poor night’s sleep. The blue light emitted from the smartphone screens that all too many of us have sat on our bedside table inhibits melatonin levels.

Sleep is fast becoming a key battle ground for brands, after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings declared on an earnings call with analysts:,“We’re competing with sleep, on the margin. And so, it’s a very large pool of time.”

Yet mindful brands are increasingly recognising that pool is finite. Earlier this month Penguin Random House released a series of audiobooks to help send listeners to sleep. The Sleep Tales collection was aimed at listeners with chronic insomnia, which is thought to affect 10 to 15% of adults.

The eve sleep team hope the proposed change in the law could protect the rights of vulnerable groups such as people living under the Heathrow flight path, shift workers, A&E doctors and teachers. Sleep might not appear an obvious social mission, but it is nonetheless vital; mindful marketing has hit the mainstream.