New Technology for Improving Sleep Quality

This week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas saw new gadgets that can offer a number of solutions to a problem faced by many- a lack of sleep, or what experts call a lack of quality sleep that allows you to feel refreshed. Some of the new devices displayed at the CES monitor nocturnal activity to get a better handle on the issue, while others offer aid through techniques such as light and sound. California-based A&D Medical provides an app that monitors activity throughout the day using a tracker, and an upgrade will be able to detect rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, seen as an important component of a restful night. Terry Duesterhoeft, president of medical equipment group A&D Medical, said, "One of the critical elements is getting good data that can be analyzed. We can get a great deal of analytics on sleep quality. By working with partners which crunch these numbers for solutions, we hope to figure out what to do with this information."

French startup Holi displayed its programmable LED light which aims at inducing sleep for those who need it. Currently it is being sold in Europe and will be available in March in the United States. Chief executive of the Lyon-based group, Gregoire Gerard said, "It's the first solution that combines a color-changing LED lightbulb designed for sleep and a sleep application. The bulb communicates with the smartphone and can be programmed in several ways. A reddish light helps the user produce melatonin, a hormone seen as important in sleep cycles. The next morning, the light switches from blue to white for gentle awakening. The app allows the user to visualize data and get advice for improving sleep. You can see what the temperature and noise levels were. The more data we have, the more accurate the advice is."

Another product, the Aura sleep system from French tech group Withings uses both gentle light and sound to induce sleep, a smart wakeup light that aims for the best moment in the sleep cycle, and a sensor pad that attaches to the mattress to measure heart activity, breathing and sleep cycles. Withings product manager Marie Loubiere said, "The music and light enable you to fall asleep and wake up gently. You get a report every day. So you can see for example if you sleep better when you go to bed at 10:00 pm instead of 11:00 pm."

RestOn from China-based Sleepace, uses a bed sensor to measure sleep time, heart rate, respiratory rate, body movement and sleep cycles, and offers advice to improve sleep quality.

There were others at the show who aimed for solutions to help parents track problems with their children in addition to their own sleep. Paris-based Sevenhugs introduced a system which uses small transmitters that can be placed in each bedroom to communicate with a controller and app.

The HugOne system monitors temperature and humidity in each bedroom, as well as indoor air quality. It also records sleep data and can interact with smart lightbulbs and thermostats.

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Minnesota-based Select Comfort Corp. has come up with a new bedding with tracking sensors already built in, which connect to an app, allowing parents to see how their children are sleeping.

Source-Medindia