Are you getting enough sleep? The importance of adequate sleep is often underrated in favor of working and playing hard, but more recently people are recognizing the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation. In 2011 the World Association of Sleep and Medicine reported that as much as 45% of the world population has sleep problems such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and general sleep deprivation. Sleep effects health and the ability to function and the individual health issues and societal cost of inadequate sleep call for safe solutions. If you have sleep issues and don’t want to take prescription sleep aids, other solutions are called for.
Juvo Lab’s Juvo smart sleep monitor, in development more than five years, promises to help track and manage sleep with the goal of improving users’ sleep amount and quality. Juvo is not yet on the market and the company is taking pre-orders via Indiegogo to fund the manufacturing process. Claiming that the development phase is complete, Juvo Labs is promising availability by March 2016. Juvo consists of a beside unit and a sensor band connected by cable. The fiber optic sensor band slides under your mattress to check breathing, pulse, and movement and monitor room sound, light, and temperature levels. The sensor band uses ballisto-cardiography (BCG) which Juvo states can detect minute adult movements through a nine-inch thick mattress and baby movement through a five-inch mattress. The WiFi connected bedside unit can play selected soundscapes to dampen background noise and you can set an alarm wake you up refreshed during a light sleep cycle. Data is stored in the cloud via WiFi and can be accessed by smartphones, tablets, or computers. Juvo also has mobile iOS and Android sleep tracking apps that you use to access reports on sleep duration and quality as well as sleep composition states: awake, REM, light, or deep. You can also read a chart of the past week’s temperature, sound, and light levels in your bedroom . An included SleepCoach application tracks sleep quality and recommends improvements. Juvo promises to automatically silence and reactivate smartphones and interface with smart home standards including NEST, Apple, LIFX, and Hue to control smart lights and thermostats to help you sleep better.
Managing and tracking individual and environmental factors to help people get better sleep without medication is a powerful concept. If Juvo Labs is successful in bringing the product market and if it works as outlined, it could lead to significant sleep improvement.
