8 Tech Tools Designed to Help Deepen Your Sleep Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
8 Tech Tools Designed to Deepen Your Sleep
Devices and apps use sensors and more to help usher you to slumberland and monitor your z s
Getty Images This article may put you to sleep. That's on purpose. Difficulty falling asleep is often blamed on our inability to rip ourselves away from computer screens and smartphones, and rightfully so. But sometimes the tech around us substitutes quite nicely for counting sheep, resulting in a restful night of sleep. Sound sleep is , and it's especially relevant given the . Numerous apps and a wide range of tech gear, from pricey “smart beds” to sleep headphones that play soothing sounds, are designed to track your sleep or help you catch more z's — sometimes both. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. "The consumer sleep tech world is extremely dynamic and innovative right now,” says Jeff Mann, founder and editor of , a website that covers and reviews sleep products. Tech-savvy is not a barrier to entry, Mann adds. As long as someone “is comfortable with using a smartphone app, then most of the tech I'd describe as ‘age-agnostic,’" he says. Some solutions suitable for older users address the environment — , for example. Others are about analyzing the length and quality of your slumber, sometimes boiled down to a “sleep score.” Those scores may enlighten you about your sleep issues but can also be confusing, producing inconsistent or contradictory results, says Elaine Hanh Le, M.D., former chief medical officer for online publisher Healthline Media. "I have multiple different apps. I've had many instances where I felt like I slept fine and then the data said, ‘disruptive sleep,'" says Le, who now works on health and wellness products on Amazon's Alexa Health team. She notes that a lot of tech-based sleep aids have not been validated in broad-based, peer-reviewed studies. Still, the data you collect from monitoring your sleep can provide a beneficial starting point for talking to your doctor about insomnia, she says. Listed below are a few of the many sleep tech products out there, with the crucial disclaimer that not every solution is ideal for every insomniac. Smart beds
Smart beds are equipped with sensors and other tech to capture data about how you sleep. They may also have features to help you sleep better, including automatic climate controls and mattresses that adjust firmness for each partner based on posture or how they toss and turn. Sleep Number, one of the best-known brands, sends a “SleepIQ” score each morning to an app on your phone. The score factors in how long you were in bed, your movement, how many times you got up, and your heart and breathing rates. The more those signs indicate restful sleep the higher the score. Don't sleep on this: "You can buy technology that does all that stuff and put it in your own bed,” says Mann, who likens smart beds to luxury cars. “But if you like that kind of thing and you've got the money, hey!" Price: $1,000 to $5,100 Measure your sleep on any mattress
Withings, a French firm that produces health- and fitness-related electronics, makes a you slip under your mattress to track and analyze your sleep patterns. You don't have to wear anything: Sensors inside the 25-inch long, 7.5-inch wide, fabric-covered pad measure your respiratory rate, heartbeat, body movement, even snoring and breathing disturbances, and transmit the data to Withings’ Health Mate app. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > Smart watch sleep aids
Versatile smart watches from Apple, Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung, Withings and other companies do more than track steps and provide other fitness metrics. Many models measure the total sleep you get, along with such variables as your heart rate and blood oxygen. Severely low levels of blood oxygen have been linked to sleep apnea. Don't sleep on this: Not everyone wants to wear something on their wrist all night.You will have to find time when you're out of bed to charge the devices. Price: $150 to more than $1,000 Soothing sounds at bedtime
Bose Sleepbuds II is a set of rechargeable, wireless in-ear headphones that promise to squelch snoring, footsteps and other low-frequency sounds that might keep you awake. Unlike other Bluetooth earbuds, these aren't meant for listening to music or podcasts. Instead, you can choose soothing sounds like rain or songbirds from a free content library with more than 50 selections. Don't sleep on this: Sleepbuds don't completely cancel out external noises.Though they come with different tip sizes, not everyone will find them comfortable or want to keep them in their ears all night. Price: $249.95 A silent metronome of light
Dodow is a battery-operated, hockey-puck-shaped machine that projects blue light vertically onto the ceiling above your bed. The idea is that by doing breathing exercises choregraphed to the light — inhaling when the beam expands, exhaling when it retracts — you'll doze off before Dodow turns itself off after a cycle you can set at 8 or 20 minutes. Produced by a French company called Livlab, Dodow gradually reduces your breaths from 11 to 6 per minute. Research indicates that slow breathing can induce relaxation and improve slumber. And while blue light from screens has been shown to suppress melatonin secretion, which affects circadian rhythms and, thus, sleep, Livlab says Dodow's light signal is too weak to create this effect. Don't sleep on this: You'll have to sleep on your back.Livlab says Dodow is appropriate for older people but it may take two or three sessions before folks with reduced respiratory capacity, which can come with aging, get used to the rhythm of slower breathing. Price: $59.95 AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe and devices, aims to wean you off using the snooze button as a crutch. Alarmy sets up creative scenarios where you can only silence the alarm by completing a designated “mission.” For example, you might have to solve five math questions, take a photo of yourself washing your hands in the sink, or scan the QR code on your shampoo bottle before the alarm shuts off. Don't sleep on it: Alarmy is free to download, but a $4.99-a-month premium subscription adds features for heavy sleepers, including access to new and exclusive missions. Edward C. Baig is a contributing writer who covers technology and other consumer topics. He previously worked for USA Today, BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report and Fortune and is author of Macs for Dummies and coauthor of iPhone for Dummies and iPad for Dummies. How to put your smartphone to bed
If you find it difficult to say goodnight to your smartphone, iOS and Android devices include wind-down features that might make it a tad easier. On Android phones, head to Settings Digital Wellbeing & parental controls Bedtime mode. You can schedule a Do Not Disturb period that restricts calls and notifications during set hours (but lets you identify important contacts you still want to be able to reach you, even at night). You can also have your screen automatically switch to black and white at bedtime, which makes it easier to resist. On an iPhone, you'll need to go through some set-up to use the bedtime scheduling features. Open the Health app and go to Set Up Sleep. Tap Get Started and then Next. Following onscreen prompts, you can do things like set a nightly Wind Down period (the default is 45 minutes) and enable Sleep Mode to turn on Do Not Disturb and curb interruptions. To adjust these settings, go to Health Sleep Full Schedule & Options. MORE FROM AARP AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS