Blue Light and Sleep Disruption
The blue light from your smartphone is disrupting your sleep, but some technologies can help you get a better night’s sleep in the bedroom.
Dodow Technology for Better Sleep
Created by a French startup, the Dodow pebble is a small device that sits on your nightstand and helps you fall asleep using cardiac coherence. It emits a blue light onto your ceiling for a period of about 8 to 20 minutes. Lying on your back, your goal is to synchronize your breathing with the blue light. You just need to inhale when it expands and exhale when it retracts. After the session, the pebble turns off. Dodow isn’t revolutionary; cardiac coherence has been around for years, but it’s a simple and effective way to maintain an optimal breathing rhythm, with an exhalation longer than the inhalation to tire you out.
Hoom App and HoomBand
Conceived by Livlab, the creators of Dodow, Hoom is an app used with the HoomBand, a Bluetooth headband equipped with headphones. Place the headband around your head, connect it to your smartphone, and select content from the Hoom app. The free app offers stories, immersive documentaries, meditation sessions, ambient sounds, and white noise. The app’s practical content allows you to use several sleep-inducing techniques including cardiac coherence, hypnosis, visualization, and the Jacobson method.
Sleep Buds and Kokoon
Manufacturer Philips has partnered with the Kokoon app to offer sleep-friendly earphones. At just 6 mm thick, they’re designed to avoid disturbing your sleep. The silicone cable sleeve is tighter to reduce pressure on the outer ear and in the ear canal. The earpiece pivots around the tip to prevent contact with the sensitive tragus. Both earphones are connected to a small box containing all the electronics, which sits at the back of the head. This connects to the Kokoon app, which analyzes sleep and offers personalized coaching and sounds. The headphones project a weak light onto the skin, which measures how it is diffused by the body’s blood flow. This information is transmitted to the application, which adapts its content accordingly.
Morpheus Sleep Box
With its retro look, the Morphée box is a screenless device offering 210 guided session combinations. Morphée works like an old-fashioned alarm clock. To start a session, turn three keys. The first lets you choose a theme from the 8 relaxation techniques offered. The second lets you choose one of the 8 sessions by theme. The third enables you to choose its duration. The box is battery-operated and small enough to place wherever you like.
Somneo Light Alarm Clock
Another Philips product, the Somneo alarm clock simulates sunrise and sunset. Before you sleep, it provides light-guided relaxation and helps slow your breathing as the light dims. The sunset mode gradually reduces the light to simulate twilight. During the night, the Somneo provides sufficient light when you wake up. The light gradually increases in the morning to simulate a sunrise, promoting a natural awakening. It changes from soft red to warm orange to bright yellow before your wake-up time. The Somneo has built-in sensors that measure light, humidity, temperature, and sound pressure. It also serves as a traditional alarm and can play your favorite music.
