The title might give you wrong ideas of what is coming ahead in next few sentences. No, 
this is not about the intimacy and excitement you share with your spouse or partner. But this common phrase is increasingly being used by many individuals across the globe either for themselves or for the partner who is lying next to them. Commonality: They might be suffering for sleeping disorders such as sleep apnoea. In many cases, the culprit is not even aware of the ‘crime’.
According to a recent study, 5-6% of people suffer from sleep disorders and this percentage will rise due to ever increasing hustle-bustle in life. These sleeping disorders could lead to severe snoring, high blood pressure, heart diseases, nervousness, lethargy etc. Sleep apnoea is a common type of sleeping disorder characterized by pauses in breathing or shallow/infrequent breathing during sleep. A recent study by AC Nielsen and Philips (conducted on 5600 respondents in 25 Indian cities) reflected that 93% of them were sleep deprived, but only 2% consulted a doctor. Sleep apnoa is diagnosed in a clicnic/hospital by a series of sleep tests.
However, with mobile & wearable technology making rapid strides there are few apps and gadgets that can help you map your sleep pattern and tell you whether you should consult a doctor for a possible sleep disorder treatment. Here are few of them:
Beddit: If you don’t like wearing a gadget, this one is the best option for you. This is a band which is placed under your bedsheet and is going to be launched soon in US and Europe. It links to your smart phone on which you can view the results. Beddit automatically tracks your sleeping patterns, heart rate, breathing, snoring, movements and environment and also recommends how to improve your sleep.
SleepCycle or SleepBot: The common disadvantage of these mobile apps (available for both iOS and android) is that you have to keep such apps running throughout the night with your phone charger plugged in which might drain your smart phone batter pretty quickly and heat up your phone. Such apps uses phone motion sensors to monitor number of turns you took during your sleep and period of inactivity. If you move around a lot then these apps might not reflect an accurate result.
Basis: Basis is watch-like fitness tracker that you have to wear. In addition to mapping your sleep pattern it also measures your heart rate, BMI, skin temperature and other vital signs. It comes with synchronization with Basis cloud service to get a more detailed report anytime.
Are these apps helping to improve your sleep? Please share your views on it and also about any disruptive technology in this field.
