Better Sleep Week: Sleep Technology

More than 30 percent of adults in Wisconsin don’t get the recommended seven hours of sleep or more. The CDC’s latest research also shows Milwaukee County has some of the most sleep-deprived people in the state, but there’s a ton of new technology designed to help.

As part of CBS 58’s Better Sleep Week, we take a look at sleep tech. It was a big focus at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.

“Shleep” debuted at CES. It’s an app you download on your phone. Then you answer questions and it gives you tips and lessons on how to improve your sleep habits.

A pillow designed to bring you better sleep also debuted at CES. Rem-Fit’s Zeeq pillow streams music, analyzes your sleep, and is supposed to stop you from snoring.

There are also gadgets like SmartWake by Verlo. You place a sensor under your mattress and it collects data on your breathing, heart rate, and movement. Using Bluetooth, the sensor sends the information to your smartphone and an app uses the data to create a sleep report. It reveals things like how long it took you to fall asleep, how many times you woke up, and how long you spent in deep sleep.

Dr. B. Tucker Woodson, a sleep expert with Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, says sleep technology continues to get better, but it’s up to the individual to truly make it pay off.

"That's the challenge, learning how to integrate the technology into the lifestyle. I think the technology is there. It's just we have to learn how to better integrate it into our healthier, happier lifestyle," he said.