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World Sleep Day: These gizmos will help you snooze like a baby
Summary
From cute screen-free handhelds to Bluetooth-enabled headbands, these gadgets show that good sleep is a button away
The theme of this year’s World Sleep Day, observed on 14 March, is Make Sleep Health A Priority, which is often easier said than done. Anxiety often fuels insomnia, and this inability to fall asleep in turn stirs up more stress. For others, dropping off is easy but sleeping comfortably through the night is a bit of a nightmare.
Nearly 50% of Indians lose an average of three nights of restorative sleep each week yet very few are willing to get help, either from experts or from gadgets, according to the results of the fifth Global Sleep Survey conducted by ResMed, a health-tech company focused on sleep.
The survey covered 30,026 respondents across 13 countries, including 5,000 in India. Poor sleep impacts overall physical and mental health, affects productivity at work and strains relationships. Among the easiest steps to sleep better is to silence gadgets and stay away from screens for the two hours before bedtime, but honestly, it isn’t always possible to turn off your phone or laptop.
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To get you some outside help for better nighttime routines and a more restful eight hours, we’ve put together some ideas and gizmos, which have worked for us or people we know.
In and Out
The 4-7-8 technique—breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds and exhaling for 8 seconds—is a breathing pattern that’s said to aid sleep by calming the mind and body and decreasing stress and anxiety. While the research on this is scanty, it’s a technique many people use and swear by and it’s often recommended by therapists, yoga practitioners and experts. A really good (and free) guide to this technique is on the One Deep Breath app.
Temperature Control
There’s plenty of research to prove that the right temperature helps us sleep comfortably through the night. Too much heat or too much cold causes discomfort and disturbed sleep. Keep your room between 18 and 21 degrees Celsius with the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool, which works as an air purifier and a room heater or an air cooler, depending on the weather. Brands such as Daikin and Samsung also have good split air-conditioners that double as heaters in the winter.
Black Out
A lightweight eye mask is a quick fix to cut out light and help you fall asleep faster. The Therabody SmartGoggles takes this a step further by combining low vibrations and a gentle temple massage to ease eye strain, cut stress and soothe achy heads any time of day. You can’t wear them all night—they are quite bulky—but they definitely help you unwind before bedtime (you can switch to a regular eye mask or have blackout blinds to remain in the dark). The only downside—you’d look a bit like a human fly, especially if you get the black version, but without the housefly’s super sight.
Breath Buddy
These cute gadgets—Bibi the Bird or Barry the Bear— from Moonbird are both screen-free and unconnected to an app while giving you a helping hand with your sleep at the press of a button. The tummy expands and contracts providing a tactile guide to breathing calmly in a pattern, which promotes both self-soothing and relaxation.
Ring Thing
Most smartwatches track sleep and provide valuable insights but it can be annoying to wear all night. The Oura Ring is sleek and attractive and an excellent tracker of sleep patterns, body temperature and other markers that doesn’t get in the way, no matter how you curl up in bed. It links up to an app and provides data on movements and disturbances so that you can actually find targeted solutions.
It's a wrap
SleepPhones are Bluetooth-enabled wireless headbands embedded with thin, padded, removable speakers to play white noise, soothing music, audiobooks, meditation guides or anything that soothes you and helps you sleep without the sound disturbing anyone else in the room. They’re washable (once you remove the speakers), come with fabric options for moisture wicking or fleece to suit the climate you live in, and are comfortable enough to wear all night—and you could also set an alarm or soothing music to wake you up.
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