How Technology Is Used to Help Us Sleep
Thanks to technology, you can automate simple tasks and access a wealth of information at your fingertips. More than medicine, politics, or the economy, consumers believe technology has improved life most in the last 50 years.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that technology can also impact the way you sleep. You’ll spend roughly one-third of your life trying to sleep, so given how much time you’re likely to spend in bed, it’s helpful to know exactly what is available to aid you in getting a full night of rest.
Below, we cover some of the best ways you can implement technology to improve the quality of your sleep — whether you’re taking a quick nap or shutting down for the evening.
Apps and Devices for Sleep
If you’re like many people who often have trouble getting to sleep, you may have considered trying a variety of sleep-assistive devices and apps. Under the right conditions, mobile applications and devices can relax your body. However, some sleep-related programs may prove more distracting if used incorrectly.
You can find a wide variety of mobile apps that claim to improve the quality and length of your rest. Some of these apps generate white noise, ambient sounds, or other calming audible effects. You’ll find apps with natural sounds, calming voices, even classical music designed to help you sleep.
If you’re a believer in meditation, you may also consult a sleep-inducing podcast from your favorite podcast app. Many listeners claim that their favorite sleep podcasts can help combat barriers like anxiety, fostering stress-free sleep on a nightly basis. Sleep podcasts use storytelling, calming melodies, and even lecture-based narration to soothe listeners.
In other cases, you might trust a device that claims to help improve your sleep. They come in all shapes and sizes — from headbands to alarm clocks to shockwave emitters — and claim to improve the quality of your rest.
Meditation Apps
Even if you don’t have a condition like insomnia that makes sleep more difficult, you’ll likely benefit from sleep meditation apps. These apps, many of them free, lead listeners through guided meditations, breathing exercises, and other calming activities.
Many meditation apps also help listeners practice mindfulness, which is mental awareness of the present moment that can positively influence sleep quality and duration. Whether you’re looking for straight dialogue or a combination of words and music, meditation apps can sometimes help you rest at the end of the day.
White Noise Machines
Other individuals have better success with white noise machines — devices that emit steady, ambient noise to help you relax and fall asleep. Some sleep apps even feature white noise among their tracks, though white noise machines typically offer a wide range of white noise options without the need to look at a backlit screen.
Many white noise machines resemble small or medium-sized speakers that can rest comfortably on bedside tables, dressers, cabinets, or other flat bedroom furniture. Under different settings, white noise can mimic radio static, ocean waves, falling snow, steady rain, or other repetitive sounds. All white noise can help you concentrate, block out background noise, and focus on resting.
Blue Light Filters
Under normal conditions, your device will often emit blue light. During the day, blue light helps to keep you alert. However, at night blue light can depress your body’s ability to produce melatonin — a hormone that helps you fall asleep.
To combat this effect, many mobile phones, tablets, and laptops are now built with blue light filters. These filters won’t affect your device user experience. Instead, they’ll help to reduce eye strain while filtering out blue light that can make sleep more difficult.
How Technology Is Improving Sleep Accessories
Accessories might be overlooked when you consider the quality of your sleep. However, items like sheets, pillows, and your bed frame can make or break the quality of your rest, depending on their quality. Fortunately, technology also helps improve the quality of your sleep accessories in a variety of different ways.
Mattress Tech
Mattresses can come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and even the underlying technology can vary drastically. Mattress technology contributes to a productive night’s sleep. Different types of mattress technology can help you fall asleep earlier and stay asleep longer.
The Purple GelFlex Grid; Is made of a flexible material called Hyper-elastic Polymer. The Grid instantly adapts to your body movements while being both soft and supportive. Featuring 1,400 air channels ensuring you stay cool all night. All Purple mattresses include GelFlex Grid ranging from 2 inches for a more firm feel and up to 4 inches for a more soft feel.
If you are in the market for a new mattress, here at Purple we offer a variety of mattresses all of which include the GelFlex Grid technology to take your sleep to the next level.
Hybrid mattresses; also use sleep-assistive technology to improve your slumber. These mattresses fit your body like a glove — through the use of gel, responsive coils, and other technologies — and will dynamically respond to your body as you move while asleep. Despite any restlessness or natural movements, hybrid mattresses are engineered to keep you asleep until you naturally awaken.
Bed Frames and Foundations
Bed frame technology has come a long way since the simple metal foundation. Today, adjustable bed frames allow you to position your bed into different sleeping positions, depending on your preferences. In other cases, remote-control bed foundations can help you transition easily between one sleeping position and another.
When you’re deciding on a bed foundation, it isn’t all about technology. Whether you prefer an automated foundation or a simple box spring, you'll want a frame that leaves you feeling rested each morning. The right bed foundation helps support your body in the right ways, while helping to keep your bed clean. And of course, you want a bed foundation that doesn’t slide or move unless you want it to.
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