The Protocol
What to Do With Removed Layers
The average sleeper removes 48 layers. Here is what our sleepers have done with theirs, from the sensible to the very ambitious.
By Tobias Mbeki-Hale, Head of Sleeper Care3 min read599 words
A sleeper with the median Number of 52 removes 48 layers during the Protocol. Across our 28,114 certified sleepers, that comes to well over a million layers that are no longer under anyone’s head. We think about them often.
This is a guide to what you can do with yours. It is based on our own recommendations and on several thousand letters from sleepers, some of which we have framed.
First, keep them
Our strong recommendation is to keep every removed layer, in order, in the Layer Caddy. The reason is Number Drift. About 14% of sleepers see their Number move within two years, and some of them move upward. A sleeper whose Number rises from 52 to 54 will need Layers 53 and 54 back. It is much easier if they are in the drawer.
Keeping them in order matters. Each layer is made for its position in the stack. A layer out of order is a layer out of context. Our Caddy has a numbered slot for every layer for this reason.
Make a guest pillow
Your removed layers form a second, shorter stack. If your Number is 52, you have Layers 53 to 100, and a sleeper can rest quite comfortably on them. Guests who sleep on a STRATA guest stack often ask about their own Number by breakfast. We cannot certify a Number found on someone else’s removed layers. We can only say that it is a good start.
Make a pet bed
Micro-Down Alternative and Aerated Wool Felt layers make a soft, breathable bed for a cat or small dog. Our studio cat, Lattice, sleeps on a stack of eleven, mostly wool. She has never been through the Protocol, but she seems certain.
Please avoid buckwheat. Pets will try to eat it.
Insulate something
Wool felt and Phase-Change Gel Lattice layers are very good at managing heat. Sleepers have used them to line window seats, bread boxes, lunch bags and, in one case, a beehive. The beekeeper reports that the bees are calm. We have no data on whether they have Numbers.
Gift a layer
A single layer, wrapped and labelled with its number, is a thoughtful gift for someone about to begin their own Protocol. Include a note. Explain what it is. A layer given without explanation has, on at least one occasion, been used as a coaster.
Things we do not recommend
We have received a number of creative uses that we feel we should mention, gently, as things not to do.
- Do not wear them. A sleeper in Ohio made a hat from Layers 88 to 94. It was well made. It was also very warm.
- Do not frame Layer 50. It is a Void Layer, and framing it creates a frame within a frame. We have seen it done beautifully. We still find it unsettling.
- Do not return layers to the wrong sleeper. If you share a home with another STRATA sleeper, keep your Caddies apart.
- Do not throw them away. Every layer can be returned to us for reuse. We will send a prepaid label and a thank-you note.
The bigger picture
When we designed STRATA, we knew most sleepers would end up with fewer than half of their layers. Some people have called this wasteful. We see it differently. Every removed layer did its job. It showed you, one morning at a time, what you did not need.
That is a valuable thing to know. It seems only fair to give the layer somewhere to go afterwards.
