Counting sleep
Instead of sheep, three new devices help you count and track sleep statistics.
I’m not sure I’m going to be buying any of these (and I suspect not), although the first one, the Zeo, promises to wake you at “the best time” in your sleep cycle. It’s my hunch that your brain is already wired to wake you at that point, so if you aren’t waking at that point, this might be helpful. But if you’re a somnambulist like me — someone who is never fully asleep (or, as a hypnotherapist once suggested in my case, “never fully awake”) — you’re already in some state of semi-wakefulness too often. I don’t need more wake-up calls; I need to sleep through. Also, because the Zeo requires that the sleeper wear a headband, it leaves a big suction mark on your forehead, like the big killer octopus/alien in any number of horror movies. I don’t want that; I get enough abuse in my daily life as it is. Moreover, because I dream about the last thing I’m thinking about before I fall asleep (reminder: “Don’t think about Newt Gingrich!”), I envision thinking about how uncomfortable this thing is and how unsightly it’s going to make me, and then ripping it off in my sleep.
The Sleep Clock uses Doppler Radar (!) to track a sleeper’s movements. That might be helpful for those who sleep in a bed all night, one meter away from the device (its signal limit). But I tend to prowl the house in my sleep, and I don’t relish being tracked like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, and I certainly don’t want statistical reports about it in the morning.
Here’s the best sleep device I’ve found, and I recommend it: Maker’s Mark. I’ve been using this for some time now. I sleep better, it doesn’t report data I don’t want to know, after using it I can carry it around wherever I go, and while it makes its mark on me, it doesn’t do it in a place anyone else can see.