5 Reasons You Should Buy A Smart Pillow

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Broadly speaking, the primary purpose of most smart technology is improve your daily life and routines. This is why so many previously innocuous objects now have integrated smart tech, and in ways you may not have expected. For example, even the pillow on your bed can be smart, adjusting for comfort on the fly and tracking your sleep patterns to help with a good night's rest.

A comfortable pillow is one of the most vital investments you can make, as it could be the deciding factor between restful sleep and lying awake at night. After all, setting the right atmosphere is one of the best ways to get a good night's sleep according to experts. If you've found yourself unsatisfied with particular pillows before, a smart pillow's inherent flexibility may be able to meet your needs better, while also providing benefits like pleasant wake-ups and wind-downs, and integrations with other smart technology in your bedroom.

Dealing with consistently poor sleep is a battle of information; every data point can help guide you to the kind of rest you're seeking. Unfortunately, when you're exhausted in the dead of night, you're likely not in the right state of mind for troubleshooting. However, you can track your sleep on devices like an Apple Watch, which provide sleep data for review the following morning. But for a method that is more integrated with your actual sleeping, there are smart pillows. 

Instead of simply keeping a virtual eye on movement and heart rate, a smart pillow can track your sleeping habits from the most viable vantage point: Right under your head. A typical smart pillow is packed with sensors, tracking your movements, the sounds you produce like snoring, and your body temperature. These stats are usually sent over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to a companion smartphone app, where you can check the readout in the morning. This information provides helpful ideas for improving sleep quality, and adjusting your habits or the state of your bed for the following night.

Of course, if the only thing a smart pillow did was track your sleep habits, it wouldn't be much better than a smartphone app. However, these high-tech pillows don't just monitor, they also react. Some versions, like the Enjoymon Anti-Snore Smart Pillow, feature a hidden array of micro-airbags, which can automatically inflate and deflate as necessary to give you the perfect resting position. Using information from its sensors, a smart pillow can determine if you're lying in an uncomfortable position and strategically redistribute air to improve your comfort. 

This inflation process is usually silent and gradual so as not to wake you, and is particularly invaluable for those with a tendency to snore. The pillow's sound sensors listen for snoring and modify the airbag inflation to adjust your head and neck positioning, and clear your airways. Depending on the model, the pillow may also employ minute vibrations to gradually lull you into a deep, proper sleep.

For some people, the hardest part of getting a good night's sleep is merely dozing off in the first place. The adjustment features of a smart pillow wouldn't do much good if you can't fall asleep at all. Those same features, however, can be used to start your night off on the right foot in addition to guiding you overnight. Using a smart pillow's companion app, you can usually program it to run a pre-sleep routine for getting into the right state of mind. This might include using built-in heating or cooling pads to create an ideal temperature and immediately conforming to your optimal sleeping position.

Additionally, some models, like the Beorhtmom Smart Pillow, are equipped with audio functions, delivered via embedded speakers. Using these, the pillow can deliver soothing sounds like white noise or ambience. Depending on the precise functions of the pillow's companion app, you may also be able to stream your preferred music or sounds directly from your phone.

Inversely to a smart pillow's wind-down functions, it can also help to get your day started on the right foot. There are plenty of cool alarm clocks for heavy sleepers, but such measures can be loud and jarring, especially if you share your bed with someone. Rather than waking up to a blast of noise or heavy vibration, a smart pillow can gradually ease you back to the waking world.

Just as these pillows use gentle vibrations and temperature adjustments to help you fall asleep, they can use the same features to wake you, providing a light, yet firm shake directly to your head and using heat to mimic the morning sun on your face. The pillow's internal speaker can also be used to play gentle, distinct morning ambiance, like the sounds of birdsong or your favorite easy-listening music. It all helps to slowly rouse you from bed rather than forcefully yanking you out of deep sleep with a sudden, obnoxious alarm.

A major component of smart devices' adaptability is their ability to communicate with and activate one another. A smart pillow can be a very helpful device on its own, but if you've got smart tech throughout your home, especially in your bedroom, it could become the linchpin to more elaborate bedtime and morning procedures. For a smart pillow with the proper integrations and compatibility, it can communicate with other smart devices in your home, networked via frameworks like Amazon Alexa or Google Home. 

This allows you to use multiple devices and appliances in tandem to create the perfect sleeping atmosphere. For example, when it's time for bed, you could trigger your smart pillow to run its adjustment and wind-down routines while your smart thermostat automatically lowers the bedroom temperature. Then, when morning rolls around, as soon as your pillow begins its wake-up routine, your smart lights could also gradually illuminate to further help wake you up.