From sleep trackers to smart alarm clocks designed to work in harmony with your body’s circadian rhythm, these gadgets are worth checking out if you have trouble sleeping.
When it comes to sleep, a lot of us could do better. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that roughly one in three U.S. adults don’t get the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep per night.
But can technology solve the problem?
“I think sleep tech is fine, but I think that there is a general misunderstanding as to what it can and cannot do,” says W. Chris Winter, MD, the president of Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and the author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It.
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Sleep trackers can be a useful tool for people who drastically underestimate or overestimate how many hours of sleep they get per night, Dr. Winter says. (After all, for most sleep trackers the primary function is telling you how much sleep you’re actually getting.)
But on the other hand, sleep trackers (and other sleep gadgets) are only helpful if you understand the information they’re giving you — and if you know what to do with it. “To me, that might be the biggest disconnect with wearable tech,” Winter says. “If I told you your echocardiogram of your heart said your ejection fraction was 27 percent, do you know what that means? And more importantly, do you know what to do about it?”
The point is that just tracking your sleep isn’t going to fix it if you’re not getting enough in the first place, Winter says. Changing your behavior to promote healthy sleep and dedicating enough time each night to sleep is what helps establish a healthy sleep habit.
With that in mind, here are five gadgets to keep an eye out for in 2020 that might help you establish those better sleep habits.
Tenminds Motion Pillow
Snoring is more than just annoying — it may also be a symptom of a chronic medical problem, like obstructive sleep apnea (a sleep disorder in which your breathing is interrupted as you sleep). And it can cause long-term problems for your health if it’s not addressed. Though it may look like any other pillow, the Motion Pillow analyzes your head position and breathing patterns while you sleep. Then the pillow uses that data to adjust its shape, shifting the angle of your head to improve airflow and ease snoring.
Doctors recommend that anyone who snores should ask a professional if it might be sleep apnea. Note that this pillow or similar devices aren’t meant to replace getting checked for sleep apnea or getting treatment if you need it. Winter says that slight repositioning of the head and neck during sleep can help sometimes when it comes to mild cases of sleep apnea, but you should seek a physician’s opinion on whether yours is severe. The Motion Pillow was recently named a CES 2020 Innovation Award honoree.
Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake-Up Light
Our bodies are designed to be awake when it’s light out and asleep when the sun goes down. (Human beings have been on that schedule for millennia thanks to our circadian rhythms, which get cued by the sun.) So it makes sense that instead of being abruptly awakened by a loud alarm, your body loves waking up to streams of sunlight.
On days when the sun isn’t shining, however, or when life needs you up and alert before natural light peeks over the horizon, this SmartSleep light has you covered. It will gently ease you awake using a simulated sunrise, along with your choice of soothing nature sounds or background music. At night you can choose a simulated sunset during which the decreasing light lulls you to sleep. You can even use the RelaxBreathe feature to help slow your breathing through a series of preset rhythms inspired by breathing and relaxation exercises, if you wish. The light also collects and tracks data, like room temperature, humidity, noise, and light factors. You can check out the information the next morning to pinpoint possible changes in your sleep environment that may be disrupting your shut-eye.
Withings Sleep Tracking Mat
This advanced sleep tracking mat easily slips under your mattress and tracks your sleep cycles, heart rate, and snoring while you sleep without your having to wear any gadgets, bracelets, or other devices. The mat syncs to your smartphone via Wi-Fi. Each day you’ll get a report with the previous night’s sleep parameters (sleep duration and depth, time spent in each sleep cycle, how long it takes you to fall asleep and wake up, and sleep interruptions), along with recommendations to help reduce fatigue and boost your health, all based on your health goals.
For example, if you’re trying to reach a healthy weight, it’s recommended that you sleep more than seven hours and aim for fewer than two interruptions (waking up from prolonged periods of sleep) per night. And if you’re hoping to be more active, it’s recommended you go to bed (and wake up) earlier, sleep less than nine hours, and aim for fewer than two interruptions per night. Keep tabs on your sleep trends in the app over time to gauge progress (or lack thereof). You can even set the mat to control other smart home-enabled devices in your bedroom, so that, for example, the lights turn off whenever you get into bed or the temperature increases when you get out of bed.
Smartduvet
It can be tricky to fall — and stay — asleep when you’re either way too hot or way too cold. The Smartduvet helps you solve that problem, by allowing you to set your preferred temperature for your duvet before you get into bed — right from your phone. You and your sleeping partner can even customize your sides of the bed. And in the morning, the Smartduvet will make the bed for you by using an air blower to pump air into the duvet’s inflatable layer; all you have to do is tap a button right in the app.
Muse S Headband
Muse came out with its original brain-sensing meditation headband in 2014. The next iteration of the headband, the Muse S (which launched January 5, 2020) is designed to help you sleep. Connect your phone to the Muse app, slip the headband on, and allow the comfortable fabric headband to do the work. The Muse S uses a feature that blends voice guidance with soundscapes (made up of sounds that reflect your individual brain activity, heart rate, and movement). These sounds are layered in real-time to reflect changes in your physical and mental states to help lull you to sleep.
Lauren Bedosky
JUL