Lynne McCrossan: A lady must learn to switch off, in order to recharge

So when the opportunity to switch off presents itself, doing so can be soul destroying.

I find myself craving sleep at 4am most mornings when the baby wakes needing mummy cuddles. While he hunkers back down minutes later, I lie wide awake planning the year ahead.

Why, I hear you cry. Because I’m crackers and can’t switch off.

So I used last weeks trip to Belfast as a chance to see if I could unwind without wine.

Heading to the sanctuary of the Culloden Hotel for an afternoon of scones and spa treatments sounded like just the tonic.

That aroma of essential oils as I stepped into the spa should have unsprung me. Instead I was all about the questions.

Is that rose or lavender? Where are these lovely loungers from? Did you use fabric softener on your robes, mine never feel that fluffy at home!?

I could see the beauty therapist making mental notes on how to remove my batteries. Then, as if by  telepathy, she spritzed a scent above me and calmly asked me to inhale, before going to work on my face.

55 minutes later I was gently requested to rejoin the living. Wafting back to the chill-out zone it felt like a lovely martini haze hovering over me — minus the alcohol.