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With World Sleep Day in mind, here are five of our favourite innovations that aim to improve sleeping habits
We all know how important sleep is to both our physical and mental wellbeing, and there are manifold innovations and devices aiming to help us fall into deeper, more efficient and longer slumbers.
On the 13th March, World Sleep Day will be celebrating sleep and everything to do with it, including medicine, education, social aspects, disorders and driving. In honour of this, we have curated five of our top innovations that aim to improve our sleep patterns, through varying means and forms.
1. A WEARABLE THAT TRACKS KEY METRICS TO IMPROVE SLEEP
According to Beddr, around 45 per cent of people have chronic sleep issues. The startup Beddr has developed a wearable that promises to measure your sleep AND improve its quality. The company has upgraded its tech to include further data and other services.
The SleepTuner uses a compact sensor, which sits on the forehead during sleep. The sensor measures metrics such as sleep duration, breathing, oxygen saturation, heart rate, position and more. Beddr also comes with a mobile app which provides data analytics, makes recommendations on how to improve your sleep, and includes a sleep coaching programme and targeted treatment options.
2. POKEMON APP THAT GAMIFIES SLEEP
The Japan-based Pokemon is planning a new app to gamify sleep. Pokemon Sleep will “turn sleeping into entertainment,” according to CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara. “The concept of this game is for players to look forward to waking up every morning,” he said.
The company says it will track “a user’s time sleeping and brings a gameplay experience unlike any other“. The app will work with Nintendo’s Pokemon Go Plus Plus. The device will track sleep time and monitor sleep patterns and will change based on how long the player sleeps and his or her wakeup time.
Read more about the Pokemon app.
3. BREATHING SENSOR THAT REVEALS COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL STATE
US company Spire creates sensors for measuring breathing, to empower people to take control of their mental and physical health. Users can attach them to their clothes, and it will monitor both breath and heart rate inflexion points. Spire claims the Health Tag is the world’s smallest consumer tag, and it does not require charging as its batteries last up to a year and a half.
After collecting data from the wearer, the Spire Health Tag uses advanced algorithms to classify the breathing patterns. These classifications are created based on data from laboratory studies relating to respiration and cognitive and emotional states. Having classified the breathing pattern, the Spire Health Tag can determine the wearer’s cognitive and emotional state. It relays this information to the wearer via an accompanying Spire app to help improve sleep, reduce stress and encourage an active lifestyle.
4. MULTI-SENSORY MAGAZINE ADVERT WHICH HELPS PEOPLE SLEEP BETTER
Advertising is increasingly becoming multi-sensory. We recently published an advertising innovation that uses a scented bus shelter to promote a vegan cookbook.
Furniture company IKEA released an advertisement in the United Arab Emirates called the IKEA Sömnig advertisement. The advert was designed in collaboration with IKEA and Memac Ogilvy. Sömnig means sleepy in Swedish and relates to the advert’s design, which aids people to fall asleep. Featured in an issue of a UAE based magazine, Good, the advert has multi-sensory features. Readers can pull out the page and place it on their bedside table to help promote a better night’s sleep. Once folded into shape, the advert stands upright on a surface.
Read more about multi-sensory magazine advertising.
5. HOTEL TURNS OLD LINENS INTO NEW PYJAMAS
Hotels, especially large, high-end hotels, use a huge amount of linens and towels. When these become worn, they are often thrown out. To reduce its environmental impact, one hotel chain has come up with a way to turn worn hotel bed linens into useful items. Westin Hotels & Resorts has launched Project Rise: ThreadForward – a sustainability program that collects and reweaves hotel bed linens.
The ThreadForward project is based on the knowledge that a good night’s sleep is of vital importance to well-being, yet children living in poverty often suffer from a lack of sleep. The textiles are transformed into children’s pyjamas, which are distributed to children in need around the world.
Read more about Project Rise: ThreadForward.
