7 ways smart home devices can help you sleep better
Smart Home
New technology has propelled us forward at breakneck speeds, making many parts of our lives more simple.
Meanwhile it's also affected us in other ways.
For instance, you may not get the same quality of sleep you once did.
Maybe you're up later, or find yourself yawning all the time at work.
The upshot is that while technology has caused a handful of sleep problems for a lot of people, it can also be the solution.
Here's how.
One of the biggest culprits of your lack of sleep is the blue light emitted by the screens you're constantly staring at.
Your phone, computer, tablet, or even TV.
This blue light tricks your brain into thinking it's still daytime.
Which inevitably will affect your circadian rhythm.
Scheduling blue light filters like night shift on your Mac or iPhone on a schedule with local sunset times can help reduce the amount of blue light your eyes see after sunset.
But if you have smart bulbs in your house, you can do the same with those.
After sunset, try minimizing the time you stare at device screens but also dim the overhead lights and lamps and switch them from a harsh white to a much warmer tone.
Whether it's Binging YouTube videos or playing games, we often look for our phones, tablets, and televisions for late night entertainment.
Try giving your eyes a rest instead.
Instead of using your phone, use your smart speaker to listen to an audio book or podcast.
You could even play games with your [UNKNOWN] or Google home speakers.
Such as choose your own adventure stories, trivia, or even blackjack.
When you're finished playing and ready to doze off, try using your smart speaker as a white noise machine.
Google Home and Alexa speakers are capable of playing all sorts of nature, city, or other relaxing sounds.
Just say something like play thunderstorm sounds.
You could even follow it up with a sleep timer command.
Say the wake word followed by stop in 20 minutes.
Try using a smart speaker as an alarm clock and for your morning routine.
If you do that, you can leave your phone out of the bedroom altogether.
This will keep you from browsing Twitter until you doze off an hour or two later than you would have or waking up and checking those late night notifications.
Smart speakers have come a long way and handle alarms with ease.
You can wake up your favorite song or playlist, or if it's your thing, wake up to the weather and music up your choice.
You may be getting enough sleep but it may not be quality rest.
Fortunately, these days there's no shortage of ways to track your sleep.
In addition to counting steps, wearable fitness trackers like newer Fitbits, also track your sleep.
Just wear it to bed, and it will track you through the night to tell you how much deep sleep you actually got.
How you many times you were awake and how long you were restless.
You may find it difficult to fall asleep if you're too cold or too warm.
So with your smart thermostat, you can set it raise or lower the temperature just before time.
Pair this with dimming the lights and you'll know when it's about time to hit the bed.
And you won't have to worry about feeling uncomfortable when you finally lay down.
The quickest way to ruin a great sleep session is to be yanked out of deep sleep by a loud annoying alarm.
Instead, try switching to a calm alarm noise and pairing it to a smart bulb to your bedside.
When it's time to wake up, you can slowly fade the light on as the alarm sound rises.
From our smart home how-tos, and other tips and tricks, be sure to check out cnet.com/smartliving.
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