Tuesday, 7 January 2014

Smart Bed Watches While You Sleep, But It's Not Creepy



Your next bed may be able to track how well you slept the night before and if you should lay off the caffeine.

Manufacturer Sleep Number introduced the x12 bed at CES this year, a voice-activated bed that monitors your sleep and aims to improve the quality of your snoozing. With a few commands, it can adjust firmness, elevation or give you a massage.

"Consumers are taking more of an active role in managing their total well being," Chief Product Officer Annie Bloomquist told Mashable. "While diet and exercise have long been the focus, sleep is emerging as an integral part of living a healthy life. You spend a third of your life in bed, and until now, you haven’t had real insight into how you sleep and what to do to improve it."

The product integrates technology found in other sleep-monitoring trackers and apps directly into the bed. While sleeping, it collects data related to breathing rate, movement and heart rate, and sends that information via Bluetooth to the accompanying iOS app. Users can also access the web-based dashboard through an Android browser. The app scores your nightly sleep quality and makes suggestions on how to improve that number in the future.

The x12 bed, which will hit select markets in February and roll out nationwide in April, also tracks your partner's sleeping habits, so you can examine the impact you have on each other. If your bed mate is snoring, it will gently raise his head to reduce the noise.


You can also program the bed to morph into your favorite position, one that also reduces pressure points that can cause tossing and turning. Users are encouraged to use the journal feature within the app to track and identify routines that affect your sleep, such as exercise, caffeine intake and TV usage. It also advises on tactics to sleep more soundly.

Not surprisingly, the bed won't be easy on the wallet. The company didn't announce a full pricing list, but said a queen-sized bed starts at $7,999. The SleepIQ technology, which tracks sleeping patterns but doesn't include voice commands, will be available across more Sleep Number beds later this year. For example, the Queen Sleep Number c3 bed with SleepIQ technology will be available for $999.

Image: Sleep Number