Using Data to Improve Our Sleep

If you’re like me – and the rest of the country – you wake up tired in the mornings. One thing that we all have in common is that we sleep every night, just some of us not as much as we should. Though this sleeping phenomenon has been happening since the dawn of man, tracking and understanding sleeping habits is something that has been developing much more rapidly in recent years. Commonly-owned electronics, such as Iphones have apps that are meant to track your sleep.

For a long time, sleep tracking was something that was exclusive to the wealthy, but this is clearly not the case anymore since the majority of Americans own cell phones. With an Iphone, you can set a bedtime and a wake-up time, also having you pick how long your ideal sleep period is. Before your bedtime, the phone will give you a reminder that it’s almost time to call it a night. Although there are many factors that go into having a comfortable sleep space, understanding your sleep times are vital to you being well-rested the next day. The New York Times article backs up these ideas and also states that people do not accurately recall how many times they woke up in the night or recall any disturbances through their hours of sleep. If we can find it in ourselves to allow technology to make up for our deficiencies, we can improve our nightly sleep habits.