Individual Project | Sleep Number X12

“I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?” ― Ernest Hemingway

“I don’t know if you’ve ever felt like that. That you wanted to sleep for a thousand years." 

- Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“Sleep is my lover now, my forgetting, my opiate, my oblivion.”

― Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife

"The nicest thing for me is sleep, then at least I can dream."

- Marilyn Monroe

"Sleep is the best meditation."

- Dalai Lama

    Come to think of it, we really do love to sleep, don't we? We are all required to do it anyway. Our body eventually becomes exhausted after a day's work and we have no choice but to rest. Sleep is beneficial, it restores our energy. A good night's sleep makes us feel ready to take on the world and face another day. Lack of sleep however, impacts our health, safety, and longevity.

                       

    There are many factors that can affect the quality of our sleep. Some of which are the light's effect, jet lag and shift work, pain, anxiety, medical conditions, medications and other substances (Harvard Medical School). The bedroom can also have a substantial effect on our sleep. This environment includes light, noise, temperature, and our very beds. A good bed, basically, means a good sleep.

    Meet Sleep Number X12, "the most technologically advanced bed in the world" (Sleep Number Corporation).

    Launched by Sleep Number, a known manufacturer of beds and mattresses, last January 7, 2014 at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), this bed was selected as an honouree in two categories: Home Appliances and Health and Fitness. As of now, it can be considered as the best bed in the world.

    An average adult sleeps 7.5 - 9 hours a day (Smith, 2013). Keeping that in mind, we are merely spending 1/3 of our lives sleeping. Just imagine that! Probably, that's the reason why sleep tracking has been a notable interest for consumers nowadays. High tech sleep tracking gadgets, from smartphone apps to clocks, crowded the market. However, Sleep Number isn't satisfied with all of those, so they decided to make something more practical and beneficial.

    “We’ve given consumers the ability to better understand their sleep combined with increased comfort and adjustability,” said Annie Bloomquist, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Sleep Number. “The revolutionary Sleep Number x12 with SleepIQ™ technology is the ultimate integrated sleep experience that takes the mystery out of sleep and empowers consumers with the information they need to improve their sleep, and therefore, their lives.” (Sleep Number Corporation)

    This so-called SleepIQ™ technology is a revolutionary advancement that was developed by Sleep Number and its partner labs. It enables the bed to precisely monitor its user's sleep patterns. Over time, it finds trends in these patterns and tells its user his Sleep Number setting - the level of comfort and support that he needs to sleep most effectively. Moreover, it keeps track of its user's movements, respiratory rate, and heart rate.

    Additionally, the Sleep Number X12 allow its consumers to adjust its mattresses, which means you can control its air chambers according to your preference. Its upper and lower part can also be raised independently for added comfort.

    If you're sleeping with somebody, you may find the comical feature of this bed handy. The Partner Snore button on the wireless remote control, which you can hit anytime your partner starts snoring, will tilt the head section of your partner's side of the bed six degrees upward - which will eventually get them to stop snoring.

    Moreover, this amazing bed can be controlled using simple voice commands or a remote. It also has underglow lights which toggle on/off when you get in or out of the bed. Tired from work or school? X12 can give you a full body massage.

    Planning to buy one? Of course, this one comes with a price. Sadly, it's a hefty one. Prices start at $8,000. You might want to start saving money now.

Sources:

Harvard Medical School. (2007). External Factors that Influence Sleep. Retrieved    from http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/science/how/external-    factors

Sleep Number Corporation. (2014). Sleep Number Unveils X12 Bed with Sleep IQ     Technology. Retrieved from: http://www.sleepnumber.com/eng/Articles/sleep-       number-x12.cfm

Smith, M. (2013). How Much Sleep Do You Need?. Retrieved from     http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm

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Jennylyn S. Cancejo