The Business of Sleep: How Tech is Taking Over

We don't usually think of it as such, but sleep – besides being an essential function for human health and even survival – is also a business. In a competitive world, there are a lot of elements competing for those seven hours or so of sack time doctors say we all need. As Netflix CEO Reed Hastings once put it, his company's biggest competitor isn't HBO or the movies. “You get a show or a movie you’re really dying to watch, and you end up staying up late at night, so we actually compete with sleep,” he said. “And we're winning!”

It's not just Netflix competing for those hours: Work pressures, internet sites, social media, travel schedules, devices, as well as sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, DSPS, RLS, narcolepsy, and much more make it very difficult for many people to get a good night's sleep; according to a Gallup poll, as many as 40% of Americans reported getting 6 hours of sleep or less per night, officially making them “sleep-deprived.”

Obviously, there's nothing new about this – and for years, sleep-deprivation victims have been treating themselves (or have been treated) with things like sleep aids and sleeping pills. But with the opioid crisis now front and center in the minds of many, sleep medical solutions have lost much of their luster – and are being replaced by alternative techniques and systems to help people overcome their difficulties in falling asleep, and remaining asleep once they’ve nodded off.

Instead, attention has been turning to tech-based solutions to promote better sleep. Devices and apps are now being used to encourage sleep hygiene. Apps especially provide reminders, incentives, sensors and other aspects of sleep hygiene and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI) treatment, which include factors such as leaving bed if you haven't fallen asleep within 20 minutes, keeping the room dark and cool, avoiding screens, coffee, and other factors before bedtime, etc. Tech can be used to train people in sleep hygiene techniques, and for many today, that is far preferable to taking a pill.

Indeed, consciousness about sleep-deprivation and what to do about it has risen considerably in recent years - to the extent that even governments are getting involved. The latest group to “wake up” to the dangers of sleep deprivation is the NBA, after an article by ESPN pointed out just how sleep-deprived players are; flying around the country to play scheduled games, early-morning flights after late-night games, less than optimal accommodations, bleary-eyed practice sessions, and of course partying. Of course, NBA players aren't the only ones with such challenging schedules; Major League Baseball players have the same issues. Studies in both sports have shown that performance is negatively affected by a lack of sleep.

Of course, that really isn't news; scientists have known for a long time what a lack of sleep can do to you. But when the issue hits big-league sports – which is a big business – it becomes a big deal, and that greases the wheels of the sleep business, with investors lining up to fund things like smart beds, smart devices, and smart apps. Investors are looking at sleep deprivation as a market opportunity, promoting technologies to help people get the sleep they need – and thus providing a counterweight to the other side of the equation, where sleep's competitors try to chip away at our rest hours.

And that opportunity couldn't come at a better time. Digital therapeutic apps and smartphone technology provide the most accessible method of using technology to combat sleep-deprivation. Thanks to smartphones, almost everyone is carrying around an advanced computer that can help prioritize and organize tasks to more efficiently accomplish a goal. If that goal is getting a good night's sleep, smartphone technology could be an important aspect of a successful sleep strategy.

Apps like ours at Dayzz provide personalized sleep training plans by using objective and subjective data sources such as a clinically validated sleep questionnaire, mobile-behavior tools and activity trackers to help users sleep better. By using big data analysis, we constantly adjust users’ training plans to fit their needs and progress and offer the right intervention at the right time, with continuous support and motivational strategies that vary in accordance to each sleep issue (or a combination of them). Dayzz provides a dynamic smart mix of solutions tailored for each user, which are designed to drive maximum engagement and encourage adherence at all times. 

When done on a group basis, like in a company, with the addition of rewards and incentives, smartphone apps can be a very effective way to help individuals sleep better.

Unlike many businesses, the business of promoting a good night's sleep is one that will profit not just investors or technology developers, but everyone. A study by the National Safety Council shows that 63% of workers in the manufacturing sector reported feeling tired at work. Studies we at Dayzz have conducted show that half of workers in large companies get six hours or less of sleep per night, while 81% said that there was at least one day at the office that they felt they were underperforming because of sleep issues. Almost three quarters of employers in the manufacturing sector said that sleep-deprivation is harming productivity; and a study by Harvard says that businesses are losing as much as $31 billion a year in absenteeism, presenteeism (where you show up for work zonked from a lack of sleep), workplace injuries due to a lack of sleep, etc. Why did it take us so long to apply tech to encourage sleep hygiene? Maybe because the tech wasn't sufficiently developed – but now that it's here, it's clear that tech will be the main focus of helping those who don't sleep well to get a good night's rest.