Armella Stepan became acutely aware of how her surroundings stimulated her mood when she was stuck in a hospital bed for two months.

She remembers the bed was uncomfortable and the sheets were rough. The only bright spot: “There was a nurse that came in wearing scrubs with the word ‘love’ all over them,” Stepan said. “I remember, just for a split second, being taken away, and thinking ‘Gosh, I don’t feel any pain.’”

From that experience she decided to develop a line of luxury bed linens. And they would include healing words stitched on the white, 300-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets. The line, named Intentions, launched in May.

Stepan, the former general manager of luxury hotel Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, spent so much time in the hospital because she was recovering from complications after an exploratory surgery. That was in 2004. About two years ago, she started her research, interviewing 30 health care experts, including yogis and doctors specializing in biofeedback. They told her that certain words helped their patients relax or go to sleep; words such as “warm,” “soothe” and “rest.” Stepan incorporated them into her bed linens.

“I wanted to reinvent the white sheet,” Stepan said. “I thought why not make bedding functional and something you interact with.”

Eric Voulgaris a co-owner of two luxury home goods stores, Rooms and Gardens in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara, now carries the line.

“We’ve been in business for 20 years, and it’s mostly about pattern, color, thread count or softness,” Voulgaris said. “But to have a bedding line that does more than cover you up is a great idea.”

Stepan has a luxury product branding and marketing firm called With a Net in Marina del Rey, but she runs the Intentions line separately.

The line is manufactured and distributed by Peacock Alley Inc. in Dallas. It includes basic sheets, bed tops, duvets and pillow shams for king, queen and twin beds, and a blanket. Retail prices range from $135 for standard pillowcases to $615 for a king duvet set. The line is also sold online through Neiman Marcus.

Each product also comes with a booklet of breathing exercises, which Stepan said is a key component of her line. People might believe just sleeping on the sheets is enough, but the key point is getting to the right state of mind.

“It’s simply intended to prepare you to meditate,” Stepan said.