“The intrusion of technology into our homes and bedrooms is claimed by many of my research colleagues to be robbing of us of precious sleep, and I agree,” wrote Matthew Walker, PhD in chapter 16 of his bestselling 2017 book, Why We Sleep.* At the same time, Walker believed that it would be possible to use technology as a force of good for improving people’s sleep,

Within 3 to 5 years, I am quite certain there will be commercially available portable devices that track an individual’s sleep and circadian rhythm with high accuracy. When that happens we can marry these individual sleep trackers with the revolution of in-home network devices like thermostats and lighting.

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, Matthew Walker, PhD

In the above interview, Ariel Garten, the Chief Evangelist Officer of Interaxon describes their latest product, the Muse S, which helps people reduce stress and sleep better, fulfilling Walker’s prediction.

The above video starts with an audio segment from their “Intro to sleep journeys,” which itself is an overview of the guided meditations that are part of the associated smartphone app.

The Muse S is a soft (fabric-covered) and flexible wearable that measures brain activity (EEG), heart rate (PPG), body movements and breathing. It communicates to the associated smartphone app, which then transmits soundscapes that respond to a person’s physiological state.

Beyond sleep, the use as a meditative aid to reduce stress is also making a difference. Garten discusses the results from a recent Mayo study of how Muse helped women improve their outcomes from breast cancer treatment.

That is just one of over 200 studies on Muse and its effectiveness in what amount to brain training, measurement, and detection of anomalies. This is the third in a series of interviews with Garten that started in 2013. It has been fascinating and enlightening to see Interaxon’s continued progress in this important field.

References

• 2013 Interview with Garten – Fashion Mind Reading
• 2015 Interview with Garten – The Meditation App & Headband

* The upshot of this book is that everyone needs adequate sleep and it is OK to sleep. Bill Gates has a more substantive book review here https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Why-We-Sleep