• Can technology improve sleep quality?

  • Sources:

    Yes, technology can indeed aid in enhancing sleep quality. Here's a summary of instances where technology played a role in improving sleep, based on information from :

    1. Sleep Environment Monitoring: Devices that scan and monitor environmental factors such as room temperature and humidity can provide data that's useful for identifying problems that affect sleep quality. For example, in one case, technology helped reduce a professional athlete's sleep awakenings by 85% by identifying that most disturbances occurred while sleeping on his back; a simple adjustment to the sleeping position led to a significant improvement in sleep quality 1.

    2. Smart Mattress Covers: Products like the Eight Sleep mattress cover allow for precise temperature control throughout the night. It is claimed that these products can enhance the depth of sleep and can help you to wake up feeling more refreshed. The cover's heating and cooling capacities can be adjusted to ensure an optimal sleeping environment, which is critical since a core body temperature drop of 1-3 degrees is necessary for deep sleep 2 3.

    3. Sleep Tracking: Sleep tracking devices and apps can provide informative data about your sleeping patterns, including the amount of slow-wave sleep and REM sleep you're getting. However, it's important to balance the objective data from trackers with subjective feelings since people may respond to the data emotionally rather than objectively 4.

    4. Absolute Rest Project: A project known as Absolute Rest, which utilized first principle thinking and involved experts in computer science and technology to develop solutions for better sleep. The project aims to understand why people sleep the way they do, rather than just how they're sleeping 5.

    Remember, while technology can be incredibly helpful as a tool for improving sleep, it's also crucial to combine it with a good understanding of one’s own physiology and subjective experience.

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