Sleep Technology Moves Into The Master Bedroom
A recent study shows that the average smartphone user has 80 apps on her phone, using about half of them each month. As of late, apps and other electronic devices are moving into the bedroom to help people sleep better. In fact, the sleep technology market is expected to grow significantly over the next few years, reaching an estimated $79.8 billion in sales by 2022.
The latest sleep tech products generally fall into three broad categories: apps and devices to help people fall asleep, to help people stay asleep, and to monitor their sleep cycle.
Sleep Tech To Help You Fall Asleep
The American Sleep Association (ASA) lists a number of popular sleep apps on their website, which are free or low cost. These include Pzizz, an auditory app that uses sound effects, music, and “binaural beats” to play soundtracks to help you slumber.
Frequencies lower than 1000 hertz are played in the left and right ear to simulate the effects one would get from deep meditation. This type of audio therapy is a form of brainwave entrainment. Your mind begins to associate sleep whenever it hears these sounds.
White Noise apps and machines are also mentioned by the ASA as a way to help fall asleep. These products play sounds of the ocean, and other relaxing sounds, such as a rocking boat or faraway thunder, to distract a person from his wandering, still-hyped-up, or worried thoughts.
One of the most popular is the Adaptive Sound Technology’s LectroFan White Noise Sound Machine. It boasts 10 different fan and (white, pink and brown) noise variations.
Of course, learning to meditate is the most natural way to manage your thoughts so that your daytime stress doesn’t affect your sleep.
Sleep Tech To Help You Stay Asleep
Maybe you’re the kind of person who’s just fine falling asleep, but remaining in dreamland is the issue. Here, you can take advantage of sleep tech products that address the two most common problems with staying asleep: being too warm and snoring.
Medical scientists have found that body temperature needs to remain between 60 to 67 degrees throughout the night for a person to sleep soundly. Two new products to help you stay in this temperature “sweet spot” are the Moona Smart Pillow and the soon-to-be-released Kyro Sleep Performance System, which is being crowdfunded on Indiegogo.
However, the best way to modulate the surface temperature of your bed is to purchase a mattress specifically designed to do so. Based on Dr. Michael Breus’ sleep science research, Luma decided to put a naturally breathable, temperature neutral comfort material in the top layers of every mattress we make. Take our Luma Sleep Hybrid Slumber System with a Talalay latex topper, for example.
If you don’t want to buy a new mattress, a 2 or 3-inch Luma Sleep Topper will also do the trick. Our toppers come in natural or Talalay latex, and even organic wool. Unlike closed-cell memory and polyurethane foams that trap heat – even the ones with “cooling gel” – Talalay’s naturally breathable, open cell structure allows air to circulate, which is what you want. This natural temperature regulation actually wicks away excess heat and moisture to keep you in the ideal temperate zone for deep sleep all night long.
As you know, snoring wreaks havoc on sleep for the snorer and their partner. According to SleepEducation.org, about 40 percent of all women and men are “habitual” snorers. More than a nuisance, snoring can be a serious medical problem, requiring a doctor’s care.
Two of the newest, most advanced at-home snoring products are the Hupnos Snoring Mask, which analyzes your snoring habits, sending out “gentle vibrations to prompt you to change sleeping positions,” and the Philips SmartSleep Snoring Relief Band, a soft band that’s worn around your chest that also uses “positional therapy” to prevent snoring.
Sleep Tech To Help Monitor Your Sleep
A number of the newest sleep tech products unveiled at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas utilize AI and the Internet of Things (IoT). Quite a few also use sensors, such as Beddit, which is currently in Beta test phase. A super-thin, soft rectangle with sensors is tucked under your sheets to provide you with a lot of information about how well you’re sleeping, including your heart rate, respiration rate, and sleep cycles. It can be connected to the Beddit app on your smartphone to get personalized sleep suggestions and tips.
With the NuCalms system, you place a cap (“cranial electrotherapy stimulation device”) on your head, while wearing an eye mask and being plugged into your smartphone via headphones. The Nu-Calm sleep device helps reduce stress so you can be more rested and productive.
Other sleep devices to know about include the Philips Somneo Sleep & Wake Up Light, which helps you wake up naturally to the morning light (rather than being jolted out of bed by an obnoxious alarm) and the Nu-Calm Power Nap, a “neuroscience” tech device, that helps you take 20-minute power naps (that are equivalent to two hours of sleep).
Stay tuned for more sleeping innovations from Luma.
To fall asleep and stay asleep, check out all of Luma Sleep’s customizable luxury mattresses today.