So, you do all the right things — you avoid coffee after 2pm, keep your electronics out of the bedroom and have a relaxing pre-bed routine. Yet somehow, sleep still evades you and you find yourself gazing at the ceiling at 2am. At the same time, you’re reading daily reports on the harmful consequences of not getting enough shuteye — which just stresses you out even more when you’re trying to doze off. It’s a vicious cycle!
If the above scenario sounds like you, it may be time to call in the big guns. As part of the ‘clean sleeping’ revolution, a growing number of brands have come up with innovative ways to a) put you to sleep and b) keep you asleep!
So, if the last time you had a decent night’s slumber was when Pokemon Go was still a thing (read: ageeeees ago), here are five new sleep tech gadgets to consider adding to your arsenal.
EXYRA Eyewear
The artificial blue light emitted from digital devices like your computer, phone or TV screens is one of the biggest sleep saboteurs. This is because it signals to the brain that it’s work time, not sleep time! Aussie startup EXYRA have created these stylish specs, which are designed to filter out this harmful blue light. Not only are they great for use during the day to protect your eyes against strain and fatigue, they’ll help counteract the effects of using technology at night (because let’s face it — we’re going to keep watching Netflix before bed!) They have both prescription and non-prescription options.
Shop EXYRA Eyewear.
Dodow Digital Sleep Lamp
The technology behind the Dodow Digital Sleep Lamp is based on the simple (and effective) concept of focusing on your breath to fall asleep. The disc-shaped gadget sits on your nightstand and projects a pulsing blue light (but not the bad kind) onto your ceiling. The idea is when it expands, you take a slow, deep breath from your diaphragm. When it contracts, you release your breath. You can set it on a timer to switch off after 8 or 20 minutes and by the sounds of it, that’s all you’ll need before you’re fast asleep!
Shop the Dodow Digital Sleep Lamp.
The Sunrise Smart Pillow
To call this incredible gadget a ‘pillow’ fails to do it justice. Yes, it uses premium memory foam, breathable fabric and ergonomic support to give you a comfortable night’s sleep. But it also tracks your sleep, blocks out unwanted noise, has an automatic reading light and allows you to store relaxing music and audiobooks to send you off to sleep. It also wakes you up naturally using a ‘sunlight’ alarm that simulates the rising morning sun while playing wake-up music. Yep, pretty amazing. You can pre-order it on IndieGogo here.
Eight Smart Mattress
What’s a smart pillow without a smart mattress to go with it? Eight’s range of high-tech mattresses include features like built-in sleep tracking, a smart alarm and temperature settings you can control from your phone (so you can warm up or cool down the bed before you hit the hay). You can even link it up with other wifi-enabled smart gadgets, so you can brew your coffee or turn lights on and off from bed.
Shop the Eight Smart Mattress.
Sheex
The one thing we always forget about summer is how damn hard it is to sleep. We’ve all done the ‘one leg outside the sheet’ move in order to try to get comfortable enough to doze off on scorching nights! With Sheex’s range of performance sheets, it’s always the right temperature. The super soft, breathable sheets are designed with fit sleep technology that release trapped heat and keep you cool and comfy. They also have a range of sleep wear that do the same thing.
Shop Sheex.
