Technology to Help you Sleep Better

Technology to Help you Sleep Better

We all would like a better nights sleep. In this day and age, there are many different technologies that can help with just that. Here, we’ll have a look at different types of technology that you can try out.

Lark

This is an alarm clock which is opened with an app, and has a wristband linked to the app. It wakes the heaviest sleepers with a small vibration. It tracks micro-movements and also gives a full report about a night’s rest, explaining the quality of sleep you had, how long it took for you to fall asleep, how many times you woke up and includes an action plan to keep you on track with your sleeping patterns.

Jawbone UP

Another wristband which monitors your sleep cycle. This wristband tells you the amount of deep and light sleep you are getting each and every night. It again tracks how many times you woke up, and wakes you with gentle vibrations. It can now also track the amount of caffeine you intake, showing what affects your daily dosage of coffee has on your sleep.



Update: Unfortunately, Jawbone has now entered liquidation, follow the link above for alternative solutions.

Aura

A bit different to a wristband, this is a sensor that slips underneath your mattress! It records your sleep environment, and promotes sleep with melatonin-inducing orange light frequencies that try to mimic the body’s circadian rhythms. Again, you can track your sleeping patterns with a sleep cycle, showing what keeps you awake at night. With this device, there’s no way you’ll forget to use it.

F.lux

This is based on the amount of blue light emitted from your computer device. It is a computer programme that adjusts your computer display screen according to the time of the day, an the amount of light it emits. Blue light is known to suppress the production of melatonin, which is needed to help you sleep. F.lux works by decreasing the amount of blue light emitted at night and makes the computer day screen mimic sunlight during the day. With this being done, it keeps the image quality crisp and clear. It is great for those who spend a lot of time on the computer for work, studying, and social computing.

F.lux is available for windows and linux.

OcuShield

One better than Flux is OcuShield. Ocushield is a blue light screen filter, which helps protect our eyes, and also improves sleeping. It is placed on digital devices such as phones and tablets. All modern digital devices produce harmful blue light. This short wavelength light is known to cause eye strain and fatigue, as well as to increase the likelihood of eye diseases. It also suppresses the hormone melatonin, disturbing our sleep-wake cycle, and the production of the protective pigment melanin. OcuShield protects your eyes and sleep by cutting out the Blue Light transmittance, but allowing the non-harmful light through the screen to give you clear and normal images.

It is available for many different electronic devices.

Good Night LED Light Bulb

Artificial lighting which contains blue light, as we already know, can enhance alertness by suppressing the hormone melatonin, making it more difficult for us to fall asleep. This light bulb uses half the blue light that is in normal bulbs, providing you with less exposure to the pesky blue light, in turn, providing a better nights sleep!

LIFX

This is another light bulb, however it is controlled with your smart phone. It is enabled via Wi-Fi, to change colours, while still being energy efficient. It is said deep red helps you sleep, while light orange is used at the start of the day, to get your day started. It also includes a feature, where in the morning, it gradually increases the light, and at night, it slowly dims the light. Who knew colourful lighting could help you sleep?

Smart Beds

Yes, smart phones, smart watches, now smart beds! These work by having built in technology that can track your sleeping patterns, monitor your breathing rate, and can even have built in alarm clocks! These will help you track your sleeping patterns, improving your sleep. There are many different options available so look around to see which one is best for you before you invest.

So sleep technology includes, trackers, light bulbs, apps and even beds. Don’t give up on finding what’s best for you, you deserve a good night’s sleep!



Man lying in bed on a lazy day

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Current Version
September 30, 2020

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