How to Use Technology For Better Sleep
When people complain of sleep troubles, one of the first bits of advice they often receive is to take all of the electronics out of the bedroom. This isn't bad advice on its face. After all laptops, tablets, smartphones, and televisions can all contribute to the lack of sleep. On the other hand, for many people, the key to a better night of sleep just might involve the use of technology. Check out these technologies that can improve your ability to fall asleep, ensure a more restful night of sleep, and help you to wake up feeling refreshed.
Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock
Do you feel miserable after being jarred awake by the obnoxious squawking of your alarm clock? Worse, do spend 30 minutes hitting the snooze button? You might consider trying out a sleep cycle alarm clock. This is an app that runs on both Apple and Android devices. It monitors your sleep patterns throughout the night, then when it's time to get up the device wakes you during the lightest part of your sleep cycle. It works by using sensors to track your movements in bed and determine where you are in the sleep cycle (light, deep, or dream).
Sleep Genius
Many folks rely on white noise generators to help them fall asleep. It might be time to upgrade to pink noise. The sleep genius relies on technology that was used by NASA astronauts to help them improve their sleep. This app uses pink noise that helps to put the brain in an optimal state to fall asleep.
Fitbit
Fitbit can't help you go to sleep, but it can give you some valuable insights into why you aren't waking up feeling refreshed. It tracks your sleep patterns based upon sleep goals that you set. As you sleep, it records how long you stay asleep, how often you wake up, and a variety of other pieces of data. When you wake up in the morning, you can analyze your sleep patterns that night. In a few weeks, you should have a pretty reliable data set that you can use to help identify issues with your sleep patterns. Then, you can implement changes such as going to bed earlier or listening to music to help you sleep.
Good Night LED Light Bulb
This lightbulb stimulates your body's natural production of melatonin. This is the hormone that sends the message to your brain that it's time to sleep. You might have even tried melatonin supplements to help you fall asleep faster in the evenings. Interestingly enough, this is another sleep technology that's been tested by NASA astronauts.
Remee
Sleep masks have been around forever. Many people use them simply for their light blocking properties. The makers of Remee have taken things much further. Imagine not only improving your ability to recall your dreams but to also improve your ability to control them. This is known as lucidity. The Remee uses patterns of rear facing LED lights to help guide wearers to a restful sleep and eventually into a dream state. Users can fine tune the light patterns over time until they obtain the ideal settings to reach their ultimate goal of dream lucidity.
Brookstone Bed Fan
The problem with standard fans is that they only cool your face and head. That is unless you sleep without covers, but who wants to do that. The Brookstone bed fan is designed to be placed at the foot of the bed and to blow a steady stream of cool air under your covers. This is a great solution for the many folks who have trouble getting to sleep because they get overheated at night.
Sleep Shield
If you have trouble falling to sleep after shutting down your iPhone or laptop for the evening, your problem might be that the blue light emitted by those devices. This blue light provides too much stimulation for the brain and can make it difficult to fall asleep, even after things have been shut down for the evening. The sleep shield is a filter that goes over the screens on each of your devices to block the amount of blue light that is produced. As a result, you are able to fall asleep faster. The sleep shield comes in a variety of shapes and sizes that are designed to accommodate virtually any device type or size.
Dreampad
If you share a bed with someone else, one of the biggest contributing factors when it comes to sleep issues is incompatibility. Some prefer a firm mattress and some a soft mattress. Others prefer a perfectly dark room while their partners might need a small light source. These issues can often be resolved with some compromise, overnight masks, or a dual adjustable mattress. Then there's the issue of listening to music. If you want to fall asleep to music, but your partner needs silence, what do you do? Earplugs are cumbersome and uncomfortable, and it's nearly impossible to sleep with headphones on. This is where the Dreampad can help. All you do is plug your music player into the pad and put your head down on it. The music is delivered to your ears only using vibrations.
As a species, we've always relied on science and technology to help solve our problems. Things are no different when it comes to problems with sleep. This is a good thing, considering that lack of good sleep is a health epidemic that can come with some pretty dire consequences.
