Let’s be real – sometimes falling asleep and staying asleep throughout the night is a challenge. Maybe you have too much on your mind when you finally lay down or your kids have had you awake every hour with a new request for a fresh glass of water. Trying to get some quality shuteye can be hard. The good thing is that you’re not alone in this struggle – for women in particular, we have a lifetime risk of insomnia that is as much as 40% higher than men, according to the Sleep Foundation. And with new technology, there are so many gadgets on the market that have been specifically designed to help you get better sleep at night. Here are just some of these tech gadgets that can help you get the seven to nine hours of sleep each night that you deserve.
Why is Sleep Important?
First, let’s get right into why it’s key that you get enough sleep each night. You may lay down in bed and get a few hours of sleep and wake up thinking “hmm, I feel kinda rested,” but are you really? There have been numerous studies performed on sleep and the effect it has on our bodies. During sleep, your body has the time to rest, recover, and perform any necessary internal functions that allow you to wake up feeling (and looking) refreshed. Still, many Americans struggle with getting enough sleep each night. We won’t bore you with the nitty gritty details, but there are some pretty eye opening statistics surrounding sleep for both adults and children. The bottom line is that sleep plays an integral role in our overall health. Now, let’s get you on the road to creating better sleep habits with the help of some tech gadgets.
Tools for Getting Better Sleep
We’re lucky that with today’s technology, there are different gadgets available that can help you get better sleep – without popping a pill. None of these gadgets claim to be miracle workers, but they can start to help when it comes to falling asleep and identifying sleeping patterns. Here are a few sleep gadgets that are worth consideration:
- Oura Ring: This device is a smart ring that can be worn while you sleep to track important health metrics. It connects with the Oura app that will display daily scores regarding your sleep, activity, and readiness. It takes into account many other factors throughout the day that can contribute to quality of sleep. Hope herself uses the Oura Ring to get better sleep each night (and competes with her husband for the “better” score).
- Sound Machine: The great debate is always – should you use a fan or no fan to sleep? Many people enjoy having some kind of noise in order to fall asleep soundly – especially when the nightly sounds of traffic, neighbors, or your snoring partner keep you awake. These machines help drown out any noise in your room to help relax your mind and body for sleep.
- Smart Sleep Alarm Clock: This alarm clock isn’t your traditional nightstand device – it has light settings that can mimic sunsets and sunrises to help you establish a healthy sleep schedule. It’s especially helpful if you have to wake up when it’s still dark outside, or you react better to visual cues than some loud clanging. The RelaxBreathe light-guided breathing feature can also help you wind down at night and then the energetic lighting can help you wake up feeling refreshed.
- Bedtime Stories: You might think bedtime stories are just for kids but there are also bedtime stories designed for adults. Listening to these special sleep stories before bed can help shorten the time between you laying down and actually falling asleep.
Hope is a huge advocate of self care, including prioritizing quality sleep every night. Stay up-to-date with her latest self-care activities by following her on Instagram.