Wake up to new technology
Companies increasingly explore devices that help track your sleep behaviours
NEW YORK Pillows that track your snoozing patterns? A bed that adjusts based on how much you twist and turn? Companies are adding more technology into their products, hoping to lure customers craving a better night’s sleep.
Some specialized businesses are making gadgets that promise to measure and improve the quality of slumber, while mass-market retailers like Best Buy are offering simpler ideas like the effect different lighting can have on falling sleep.
The interest in sleep has intensified. The number of sleep centres accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine nearly tripled from 2000 to 2015, it says. People are more likely to brag about how much they spent for a mattress than on their clothes, says Marian Salzman, CEO of Havas PR North America.
“Sleep is the new status symbol,” she says.
It’s a big business. One of the more expensive products is Sleep Number’s 360 Smart Bed, which runs from $3,449 to $4,999. (All figures U.S. dollars.) It makes adjustments based on how restless people are while they’re sleeping. The Zeeq pillow, which sells for $299 and is from bedding brand REM-Fit, monitors snoring and can gently vibrate to nudge someone into a different sleep position.
“I’m willing to spend more on sleep technology because it will hopefully help me fall asleep quicker, stay asleep longer and be more rested when I wake up,” says Frank Ribitch, a self-described gadget junkie from Martinez, Calif.
Insufficient sleep is a public health concern, U.S. officials say, with more than one-third of American adults not getting enough regularly. That can contribute to problems like obesity and diabetes.
Finding solutions could be a lucrative enterprise. Earlier this year Apple Inc. bought Finland-based Beddit, which was making an app and sleep-monitoring device that’s placed under the sheet on top of the mattress. The $150 sensor begins tracking when a person lies down, and analyzes data such as the portion of time someone is in bed asleep before waking up. It also monitors heart rate, temperature, movement and snoring.
“Previously, it was about the sleeping pill and people didn’t want to talk about sleep apnea,” Beddit co-founder Lasse Leppakorpi said before Apple bought the company.
Apple, whose own Apple Watch tracks activity and offers sleeptracking experiences through third-party apps, declined to talk about the future of Beddit.
At the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center, medical director Clete A. Kushida tests new therapies and medications. Over the past two years, the analysis has expanded to wearable devices to assess how well the devices match the centre’s own overnight sleep studies.
Kushida’s conclusion? “Consumer wearable devices are not there in accurately detecting the stages of sleep,” he said. The problem: They focus on motion, which can be deceptive since a person could be lying in bed awake.
Still, Kushida believes consumer products are getting better and will be able to accurately monitor and solve sleep issues in the next five to 10 years.