Dr. Oz says we need more sleep; these devices can help
Sleep isn’t just something people take for granted, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz, it’s something they ignore entirely.
“Most don’t appreciate that evolution would have gotten rid of sleep if it wasn’t so vital to our well-being. There’s no benefit to being defenseless for eight hours a night.”
The TV host and attending physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia Medical Center took a few minutes after participating in two health-related panels at CES to talk about the importance of sleep at the SleepScore Labs booth.
Asked why, at CES amid all the robots and massive TVs, anyone should care about sleep tech, Dr. Oz called the lack of a good night’s sleep America’s “single most underappreciated problem in health.”
Just 5 percent of the population can get by on less than six hours of sleep each night, he noted. “The 95 percent mere mortals like most of us have to sleep at least seven hours a night. Men are actually needier than women. They always are. We need about seven and a half hours.”
Sleep data
The average woman in Nevada goes to bed at 10:44 p.m. and wakes at 6:49 a.m.
Aside from being a potential plot point in a future season of the Netflix stalker drama “You,” that information, collected from millions of hours of data by SleepScore, is being used in a variety of sleep-related partnerships.
The company offers an app as well as hardware that uses radio frequency sensors to track consumers’ respiratory and body movements. That data, in turn, will tell the company as well as the user when they’re asleep and how deeply. “We can tell that you’re in dream sleep,” said SleepScore CEO Colin Lawlor, “but we can’t tell what you’re dreaming about.”
At CES, SleepScore unveiled its collaboration with International Flavors & Fragrances. Their sleep fragrance, according to its testing, helped participants spend 26 percent less time awake after falling asleep. It’s not yet on the market. Additional upcoming IFF fragrances have been designed to help users wake up as well.
The anti-snoring pillow
The Motion Pillow by 10Minds, which inflates its internal airbags to reposition its owner’s head during the night to prevent snoring, is a CES 2020 Innovation Awards honoree. According to the company, a Solution Box placed on the nightstand will analyze head positions and breathing patterns throughout the night, then make adjustments to the pillow’s shape, allowing for unimpeded breathing. Currently seeking funding via Indiegogo, the Motion Pillow is expected to ship in April with a retail price of $420.
The smart bed
Swedish luxury bedmaker DUX introduced its Element, designed to make your bed the center of your smart home. With the Amazon Alexa-compatible DUX Smart Module, users can sync all their smart tech — window shades, lighting, etc. — to create a seamless sleeping and/or waking experience. Need extra help waking up in the morning? You can set additional options, like having to solve a math problem to prove you’re awake before the alarm will stop making noise. The entire bedding system, including the Smart Module, starts at $4,950 and is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2020 at Amazon or Duxiana.com.
Light therapy
Lumos Flux, which promotes itself as “light therapy glasses for night owls,” is dedicated to alleviating the health risks associated with sleep deprivation. According to the Lumos Flux developers, former Apple designer Lucas Wen and Dr. Jamie Zeitzer from Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, by reflecting light back into the wearer’s eyes and stimulating the ganglion cells, the glasses can help boost melatonin levels and reset the circadian rhythm. Lumos Flux will launch on Indiegogo in March with delivery of the first 500 units promised in June.
The headband
Ebb Therapeutics showcased its wearable sleep device that uses cooling activity to reduce metabolic activity in the frontal cortex. The fluid-filled headband is designed to keep the wearer’s mind calm to aid in getting to sleep and staying that way. A second, battery-powered portable device, expected to debut late this year, is designed for frequent travelers.
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.
