Research has shown that sleep deprivation can impact our productivity at work, and even curtail our earning power. With so many of us failing to have a good night’s sleep, can technology help? In recent years, all sorts of gadgets and apps promising to enhance our sleep have exploded on to the market. But do they really work? From sunlight lamps to white noise machines, our writers put some of the most popular sleep gadgets to the test.
Sleep Cycle app, free
The app uses iPhone sensors to track your sleep cycles, put the phone next to your pillow and the app measures your movements and wakes you up at the optimum time. It’s more of an app for people who struggle to wake up rather than fall asleep – the soothing alarm gradually gets louder giving you a gentle wake-up. A good idea, but I live next to a school that decides to use a leaf-blower in the early hours and woke me up in my deepest sleep state, as the app told me, depriving me of the joy of waking up in my lightest state.
There’s also something oddly big brother-esque about Sleep Cycle that I found encourages more insomnia than sweet dreams. It knows if you snore, how much you move, when you wake up, when you’re dreaming. I don’t even know that about myself. And the thought of yet another thing stealing my data kept me awake at night. It was like a pea under my bed, if I were a princess – Naomi Larsson
Verdict: 3/5
Lumie Bodyclock Starter, £59.95
The lamp works by gradually filling your room with light to mimic the rising sun, and is said to wake you up naturally by reducing your body’s production of the sleep hormone melatonin.
I tried out the Lumie Bodyclock Starter, a “dawn stimulator” which creates a 30-minute sunrise in your bedroom. As a deep sleeper who slumbers through lightning, noisy neighbours and my partner’s snoring – perhaps unsurprisingly the Lumie Bodyclock didn’t wake me up. But when I finally did stir I felt more refreshed (until I had to make a late dash for the office).
The next morning I set the Bodyclock with the optional “alarm bleep” and this time it did wake me up (eventually). For the better part of the day I felt more energetic, and by the evening I felt sleepier. After using the Bodyclock for a week I’d say it had a positive impact on my sleep cycle, however the biggest issue was that I found my sleep-addled self pulling the covers over my head to block out the morning light, which pretty much made the lamp pointless. – Charlotte Seager
Verdict: better for light sleepers, 3/5
HoMedics deep sleep white noise machine, £29.99
For me, living in a two-bedroom flat on a busy main road in central London, there are endless possibilities of being woken – from traffic and noisy neighbours to drunks spilling out of the pub across the road at 1am. Add to this cacophony a screaming baby and it’s surprising how a feather-light sleeper such as myself ever drifts off.
Usually, I attempt to block out the racket with earplugs – but could masking the noise be effective? This device claims to aid sleep by blocking out clamour with white noise. There are four distinct “tones” to choose from, all designed to help you fall asleep and rest during the night. But it was really just the same sound – the “soothe” setting in the lightest pitch and “calm” the deepest.
While the first setting – not dissimilar to the sound of gentle rain – did the trick of drowning out noise, it reminded me of the static you’d get from an old analogue TV that’s lost its signal. I found myself wishing that someone would change the channel. Thankfully, a timer which can be set for 30, 60 or 90 minutes means the machine will automatically turn off if it doesn’t help you fall asleep. For everyone else, you’ll be happy to know your batteries won’t be unnecessarily drained once you’ve nodded off. – Matthew Jenkin
Verdict: if you like white noise, it works 2/5
Relax Melodies app, free
With this app you can “say goodbye to insomnia” for free (mostly – you pay to access more features). Relax Melodies aims to get you into a relaxed, sleepy state through a selection of sounds and meditation guides. It’s almost like one of those “be your own DJ” apps where you can mix sounds to build some kind of super sleep track. Create a lullaby of monks chanting by a campfire as the rain thunders down. Or try the sound of a crowd of people murmuring beside a grandfather clock as lapping water runs underneath. Whatever sound calms you, Relax Melodies seems to have it, and you can even add your own. But that was a problem for me; my frustrating indecisiveness took over and I spent far too long choosing my sleep soundtrack, and eventually ended up mixing the standard “rain” and “night”. Albeit slightly boring, it was relaxing, and along with a short meditation led by a woman soothingly telling me how to breathe properly and relax my jaw, it was nice. I got to sleep much quicker than usual. It’s a bit like a GPS directing you how to fall asleep. – Naomi Larsson
Verdict: 4/5
Ocushield screen protectors £24.99 and glasses, £39.99
These screens claim to block “harmful blue light from digital devices” which has been found to affect sleep hormone levels. I’m a screen addict: I use my phone as an alarm, watch, internet browser and messager – so I was interested to see what difference it would make.
After a few days of use, I confess that my sleep cycle was ... the same. For me, it was hard to measure, as I generally fall asleep within the hour.
I also tried the Ocushield glasses. I loved the look of the frames, but I found I tended to wear them all day – and it took a while for my eyes to adjust to the new colouring when I remembered to take them off. For me the screen protectors were much more practical. Personally, using blue light protectors for a week* didn’t affect my sleeping habits, but if you have trouble falling asleep they’re definitely worth a shot. – Charlotte Seager
Verdict: 1/5, *however it is recommended that you use the protectors for 21 days to aid sleep
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