thim-sleep-device

Many devices are available on the market that claim to help track your sleep, including apps for your smartphone (if you’re willing to sleep with your phone). But as far as I know, none of them are designed to train you to sleep better. An Australian company has created a wearable that addresses this problem.

The Thim is a smart ring that you wear while you sleep. Like other sleep monitors, it can determine when you are asleep and when you are awake. The company claims that unlike some competing products, it is accurate to within one minute for the onset of sleep. More than just detect sleep, however, it can train you to fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly. This technology is based on sleep studies conducted at Flinders University in Australia. Researchers discovered that if a subject was gently woken up every three minutes through the night, they would fall asleep faster and sleep longer. Unfortunately, they also were tired when they woke. Subsequent studies found that if the 3-minute waking cycles were limited to just the first hour of sleep, subjects still benefited from the training.

The Thim also can be used for power naps. It can detect when you actually fall asleep, according to the company, and then wake you precisely 10 minutes later (which they state is the optimal length for a nap). The company has launched a Kickstarter campaign, with the first products scheduled to ship in May 2017.