With each year that passes, it seems the world is growing more exhausted. Whether because of the rapid pace at which we live or the prolific hustle culture that keeps us tethered to our work long into the night, it’s no wonder that sleep deprivation has become a major health epidemic.
Statistics show that one in three Americans get less than the recommended seven hours of sleep per night. Americans feel sleepy an average of three days per week, according to a poll by The National Sleep Foundation.
Only 38 per cent strongly agree or somewhat agree that they wake up feeling rested. Considering that sleep is critical for our health, these are alarming statistics and this epidemic is one that has prompted sufferers to seek help beyond healthcare providers.
This presents a lucrative opportunity for the tech sector to capitalise on because technology can be used in many ways to improve sleep. While sleep tech is not entirely new, plenty of gaps can still be filled. Businesses are quickly waking up to the potential profits in this industry.
So what are the opportunities? Let’s take a look.
Why the world isn’t sleeping in 2022
In 2022, people are yawning left, right, and centre. There are a plethora of YouTube videos with titles along the lines of “This Is How Everyone Feels! Yet Another Exhausting Day” or “Why You’re Always Tired,” which receive millions of views.
So why aren’t we sleeping? According to experts, sleep loss can be caused by a number of key issues.
Sleep disorder
In the US, 50 to 70 million adults have a sleep disorder. Some may not be aware, but there are actually over 100 different sleep disorders, some more common than others. The most notable of these are narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and short-term and long-term insomnia — you’ve likely encountered these terms before.
Narcolepsy is a disorder characterised by uncontrollable daytime drowsiness, and this affects 50 out of every 100,000 Americans. Sleep apnea, another common disorder in which someone’s breathing is interrupted during sleep, affects 25 million adults.
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Insomnia, understood to be persistent problems with falling and/or staying asleep, is one of the most common sleep disorders. In fact, short-term insomnia affects about 30 per cent of US adults — 10 per cent of adults suffer from the chronic variety.
Poor sleep hygiene
Sleep hygiene includes the habits and conditions that influence how well you sleep. Many of the aforementioned disorders are exacerbated by poor sleep hygiene, and it can also cause these disorders. An inconsistent sleep routine and uncomfortable bedding materials can both impact sleep hygiene.
Over 35 per cent of adults wake up during the night at least three times per week. More than half like to sleep on their side, while only 37.5 per cent sleep on their back — the healthiest sleep position. This points to a need for better sleep hygiene to ensure consistent rest and optimised sleep conditions.
Stress and anxiety
Chronic stress and anxiety can cause sleeplessness, and conversely, sleeplessness can cause stress and anxiety. This leads to a sleep-stress cycle that is exacerbated the longer it continues untreated. In people aged 13 to 64, 43 per cent report experiencing sleep loss due to stress at least once monthly.
So what do these statistics mean? One word: opportunity. There are new avenues opening for sleep-loss sufferers and consumer tech companies alike.
How tech companies can address the epidemic
Clearly, sleeplessness is an issue that affects a significant part of the population — and there’s plenty being done to counter the issue, especially by tech companies.
Wearable sleep trackers
Wearable technology has been around for a long time, and now we’re making use of it to help us doze off. Wearable sleep technology refers to devices you wear on your body to collect data on your sleep behaviour so you can better understand and address any obstacles to healthy sleep. They can come in many different forms, e.g., wristbands, armbands, smart watches, headbands and rings.
Wearable sleep tech has gained rapid consumer adoption in recent years. Research suggests that currently, one-third of Americans use smartwatches to monitor their sleep quality and duration.
The Fitbit Charge 4 is an example of a wearable sleep tracker with a built-in heart rate sensor and blood oxygen level monitor to help you gain insights into your sleeping routine.
ActiGraph, Oura Health and Apple are other popular suppliers of this technology.
Smart beds
A smart bed is a mattress that uses technology to help you shut your eyes. They have bio-signal monitoring sensors that collect data on your heart rate, breathing, body temperature and movement while asleep to determine your sleep patterns.
Some advanced smart beds also allow monitoring of your sleep environment, such as room temperature and the amount of noise and light in the room. They can then make adjustments in temperature, firmness and support levels to improve your sleep hygiene. Since we spend one-third of our lives snoozing, many people have realised the benefits of investing in such a smart mattress.
The Ghost SmartBed 3D Matrix is one such smart mattress that uses high tech to enhance sleep quality. This airbed collects data on sleep behaviour and sleeping patterns, collating insights to help with sleep improvement. Thanks to its adjustable air chambers, you can customise your bed to different sleeping positions and individual body types. What’s cool about this mattress (literally!) is that cooling technology is used to create optimal temperatures for sleep. Heavy people who tend to get hot during sleep can especially benefit from this.
Noise control technologies
If your bedroom environment is filled with disturbing noises, you may find it difficult to fall and stay asleep during the night. According to the statistics, about 57 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women in the US snore, which means their partners are likely impacted by it.
Everyone appreciates a peaceful night’s rest, uninterrupted by external noises. Active noise control technology (ANC) has the potential to enhance the quality of sleep by reducing undesired sound waves by adding a second sound to counteract and cancel the undesirable sound. This method is also called noise cancellation (NC) or active noise reduction (ANR). Active noise control works best for reducing constant, low sound frequencies, like a plane engine or highway sounds.
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But to eliminate sudden disruptive sounds, like loud talking, barking dogs and snoring, sound masking proves to be more effective. Sound masking technology basically replaces those unwanted sounds with other, more pleasant sounds.
For example, the Bose Sleepbuds II block harsh noise frequencies and replaces them with sleep-conducive sounds from a connected phone application. Remember that feeling of dozing off on the beach to the sound of the ocean waves? That’s how this works. It mutes disturbing background sounds with more soothing ones.
A popular alternative for noise control is a sound machine, which generates soothing noises to help you snooze. There are many sound machines on the market, emitting different types of sounds like white, pink, and brown noises, which more or less mimic the sounds of nature like waterfalls, rain and strong wind.
Mobile applications for improving sleep habits
A large portion of the mobile app market is populated with lifestyle apps aimed at improving the habits and well-being of mobile users. These apps can potentially help with sleep quality, as habits like mindfulness have been linked through research to insomnia improvement.
An excellent example is the popular meditation app Calm, which offers a combination of mindfulness exercises, lulling sounds and music to help you relax and fall asleep.
Then there are habit-based apps like the Book Morning! app, designed by the renowned wellness app developer Fourdesire from Taiwan. Fourdesire has been operating in the global wellness app market for only a decade and it’s on a mission to help people improve their well-being through play.
Their acclaimed gamification apps have amassed a fan base of over 35 million worldwide. Plant Nanny2, the hydration app that encourages people to develop better water drinking habits, was named Best App by Google Play in 2019.
And Walker, the pedometer app to motivate people to walk more during the day, received the Best Game Award from the Apple App Store. Book Morning! is the startup’s latest release. It is a storytelling alarm clock app that promotes a healthier wake-up routine by presenting a reading challenge to the user each morning. Users can set a goal to read a certain number of pages each morning immediately upon waking up.
These are just a few of the thousands of emerging devices on the sleep tech market, and they represent some of the most lucrative opportunities for tech companies in the years to come.
The current market for sleep technology
When entering a new market, you need to know who and where your customers are and ensure there is sufficient demand for the product you’re developing. In sleep tech, you can rest assured there is plenty of demand for innovative sleep assistance — and the trend is on a steady incline.
The global sleep tech device market exceeded US$12.5 billion in 2020, a number predicted to hit US$40.6 billion in 2027. The growth is owing to factors such as the rising incidence of sleeping disorders, technological advancements, and increased awareness of sleep tech devices and their health benefits, as well as a globally ageing population.
North America had the highest revenue share at 43 per cent in 2020 and it’s projected to grow at a CAGR of 15.5 per cent until 2030. Women in particular favour sleep tech devices because they are more prone to sleep issues as a result of hormonal changes.
Wearable sleep devices held the largest share and are expected to have a growth rate of 17 per cent, compared with five per cent for smart beds and 14 per cent for active noise-cancelling devices. Demand for wearable sleep devices is driven by increased work-related stress levels and fast-paced lifestyles. Perceived convenience, compactness and affordability also contribute to the strong growth in this particular segment.
But in terms of market size and growth, mobile apps top the list. Sensor Tower estimated that global consumer spending on mobile apps will reach US$270 billion by 2025, growing at 19.5 per cent annually from US$111 billion in 2020. Mobile wellness apps will have exceeded one billion installs worldwide in 2021, an astonishing increase of 42 per cent when compared with about 730 million installs in pre-pandemic 2019.
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The revenue forecast for such apps was projected at nearly US$1.6 billion in 2021, up more than 15 per cent year-on-year from approximately US$1.4 billion in 2019. North American users spent the highest amount in the category, accounting for about 53 per cent.
Mobile apps are undoubtedly the most accessible considering most people have a cell phone these days. The pandemic outbreak has highlighted consumers’ focus on both physical and mental well-being. The subsequent remote setting for both professional and personal lives has also further propelled consumer demand for digital wellness. In the first 10 months of 2020 alone, spending on wellness apps hit a whopping US$1.1 billion globally. Since COVID-19 is unarguably here to stay for a while, those who can effectively tap into this market may end up sitting on a gold mine.
Final thoughts
Sleep loss has not only a long-term destructive effect on our well-being. It also has a detrimental impact on the economy because of lost productivity as a result of poor mental health. The stage is set for new tech innovations to take the lead as people grow desperate for more restful nights. And, as seen in the above examples, there are many pathways into the sleep tech market.
Whether you invest in wearable technology or design the next award-winning app, rest assured that the market for these products isn’t disappearing any time soon. People will always need sleep and always need assistance when sleep refuses to come — in terms of market potential, the window of opportunity is wide open.
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