Sleep Technology
In the last three weeks, we talked about why sleep is important, different behaviors you can change to improve your sleep, and different supplements you can use to improve your sleep. This week we will finish our sleep discussion by talking about different technologies you can use to maximize your quality of sleep. In modern society, technology is used to make everyday tasks easier. More recently, researchers have identified how technology impacts our sleep, and technology is being created to help us monitor and modify our sleep. If used properly, technology has the potential to greatly improve our quality of sleep.
1. Monitoring sleep
If you plan on using any of the behavioral techniques or supplements to improve your sleep, you might want to be able to see if they actually help you. You may rely on subjective data: how rested you feel or your mood the next day. This data, when properly tracked, can help build a baseline understanding of if what you are changing is helping you. However, including objective data, hours in each stage, restfulness, and delay in the onset of sleep, can be much more beneficial to track sleep pattern changes.
One of the first commercial products produced to track objective sleep quality were smartwatches. Smartwatches were an innovative platform that used biometrics to calculate objective sleep data. Over 21% of Americans currently use smartwatches to track their fitness and sleep, and this percentage is rising every year. If you are looking to optimize your sleep, having extra data to understand how you are sleeping can always be beneficial.
A smartwatch can be a great way to start tracking your sleep data. Although high-end smartwatches can cost thousands of dollars, there are also some inexpensive options. Fitbit has a few basic fitness and sleep trackers that start at $79.99. Even the most basic trackers can give you data about time spent in each sleep stage and the total time spent sleeping. You can use this data, along with your subjective feelings the next day, to figure out if the sleep supplements or habits you are changing are helping you.
On the more expensive end of tracking devices are Oura rings. Oura rings start at $299 but they provide a lot more data and interpretations than a basic smartwatch. Oura rings are specifically designed to measure your activity and rest by tracking your body temperate, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and over 17 other biometric signals. Oura rings use this data to calculate your sleep quality, activity, and readiness. Their algorithms are so advanced that the company claims they can recognize when you are starting to get sick or need more rest.
No matter what your price point is, there is a wearable device that can help you track objective data about your sleep. The more data you have about your sleep patterns, the easier it will be to track if a new supplement or sleep behavior is helping you.
2. Modifying sleep
Technology is not only useful for tracking your sleep but it can also be used for modifying your sleep. As we discussed in the “Why Sleep?” article, one of the primary factors determining your sleep and wake cycle is your circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm is strongly influenced by exposure to short waves or “blue” light. Blue light exposure triggers the feeling of alertness and the lack of blue light triggers the release of melatonin and the feeling of drowsiness.
The screens (TV, laptops, and cell phones) that we use every day omit a wide spectrum of light including blue light. This blue light exposure immediately before bed has been correlated to a decrease in sleep quality and a longer delay in the onset of sleep. It is currently recommended to limit exposure to blue light 3 hours before bedtime. Developing good habits like reading or meditating before bed can help limit this exposure. However, some people might find it difficult to put down their blue light-emitting devices 3 hours before bedtime. If you are one of those people, there is another option to minimize your exposure to blue light: blue light-blocking (BLB) glasses. BLB glasses filter out the blue light and block it from reaching your eyes. BLB glasses can be used to help control your circadian rhythm when they are used before bedtime.
Before bed, you should minimize your exposure to blue light. However, in the morning, you should try to maximize your exposure to blue light. The best way to expose yourself to blue light in the morning is to get outside and get some sunlight exposure. However, many people have environmental, location, work schedule, weather, and other limitations which constrain their ability to get natural light from the sun in the morning. If you are one of those people, something like a “happy light” might help you. A happy light is a full-spectrum, white light-emitting device. Full-spectrum light mimics the light produced by the sun and it includes short-wave blue light. When individuals are exposed to blue light within the first hour of being awake, they subjectively experience better moods and a higher level of alertness. This will, in turn, help your circadian rhythm and improve the quality of sleep on the following nights. I personally have used a full-spectrum light during winter months, and I found a significant improvement in my mood and quality of sleep.
There are many other technological devices that have been created to help improve your sleep. We have just scratched the surface with this article. If you decide you want a device to track your sleep, it is important to realize that not all devices are created equal. A cheaper wearable device is better than nothing, but it won’t provide you with the same data as some more expensive options - like the Oura rings.
Along with tracking your sleep, devices can also help you change your sleep. One of the main ways technologies can help change your sleep is through blue light modification. You can use devices to decrease blue light before bed and increase blue light when you wake up to change your circadian rhythm.
If you take one thing away from this month’s articles, it is that if you can control your circadian rhythm, you can control your sleep. You can use different sleep habits, supplements, and technologies to help control your circadian rhythm and ultimately control your sleep.
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