Role of Sleep Number 360® smart bed in advancing sleep quality

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Sleep Number’s technology shapes the future of health and wellness

Some time ago, the ability to function and perform with minimal sleep, and the accompanying sleep deprivation, was a point of pride amongst ambitious folks eager to literally beat the clock. However, the advancements in sleep science and scientific studies during the past decade have established the importance of sleep to our overall health. There are comprehensive scientific studies that have established the direct impact of lack of quality sleep on obesity, impaired immunity, dementia, and other health disorders.

As consumers are becoming more aware of the importance of sleep and getting accustomed to applying the concept of quantified self to various aspects of their life, including sleep, the need for a smart bed that can provide high-quality sleep as well as deep visibility into health and wellness metrics is increasingly important. During a 24-hour time period, consumers use their bed from 6-8 hours, which amounts to a quarter to a third of their life.

Realizing this need, Sleep Number launched its 360® smart bed in 2017 to provide sleepers effortless comfort and personalized insights about their sleep health and habits. The 360^® smart bed laid the foundation and propelled the growing sleep tech category, which continues to expand thanks to consumers’ interest in quality sleep as a major contributor to overall health. Since its launch, the 360^® smart bed has been used by millions of sleepers. Sleep Number has continued advancements and innovations to create both a superior sleep surface and a highly innovative tool for sleep health, science, and research. 360^® smart beds are being used by some of the world’s most renowned sleep and health institutions as learning and research tools.

360^® smart beds are powered by Sleep Number’s proprietary SleepIQ^® technology platform: a scalable and industry leading end-to-end IOT system that uses advanced AI/machine learning algorithms and longitudinal data processing capabilities to generate sleep and health insights. In addition to the proprietary SleepIQ index of sleep quality, smart beds collect information about circadian rhythms, as well as heart rate, heart rate variability, and respiration rate, to find evidence of sleep disturbances. They may one day also proactively assess other chronic sleep health issues. The data and insights provided by the SleepIQ platform provides detailed understanding of micro and macro structure elements of sleep while redefining sleep health and create an adjustable, responsive, and holistic microenvironment for each sleeper. In addition, 360^® smart beds operate as an extensible sleep platform as new updates, features and insights are continuously delivered over time.

“The magic of the 360^® smart bed for consumers is that there is nothing to wear or do — all they have to do is sleep,” said Faisal Mushtaq, SVP and Chief Technology Officer for Sleep Number. “The smart bed works seamlessly and collects roughly 14 billion data points every night about the way we sleep.”

Sleep Number 360® smart beds are changing the way consumers think about and experience a good night’s sleep, with SleepIQ technology becoming an integral part of modern sleep science. Sleep Number recently published a new study in the journal Sensors that shows that SleepIQ^® technology demonstrated strong correlations in measuring sleep compared to traditional laboratory PSG, the current gold standard of measuring sleep. PSG, however, is impractical to use longitudinally, and places an extensive burden on the user. The results of this study suggest the 360^® smart bed may provide a reliable, longitudinal measurement of sleep quality, while enabling access to sleep metrics from the comfort of one’s home and from large populations for longer, continuous periods of time than what is feasible with PSG.

“We’re excited by the potential of this research and our technology to develop new products, services and impactful partnerships,” Mushtaq noted. “While further validation is needed to confirm 360^® smart beds for use as a screening tool for sleep disorders, we’re confident the proven accuracy of SleepIQ technology is a stepping stone for greater health implications.”

Sleep Number also presented the ability for SleepIQ to identify influenza-type symptoms, including those present in people with coronavirus at SLEEP 2021 and World Sleep Congress 2022, the world’s leading sleep science conferences.

“These capabilities will be commercialized in the future, and we are continuing our research and development,” Mushtaq said. “Given the scale and capability of SleepIQ platform, our technology’s potential to create awareness at early stage of such illnesses may enable sleepers to get treatment sooner and make better decisions about their health. This aligns with our purpose to improve the health and well-being of society through higher quality sleep.”

Sleep Number has in-house research and development capabilities consisting of engineers, research scientists, and sleep researchers who are driving world leading innovation in sleep science and product development. The company has a comprehensive roadmap of features and capabilities that will help sleepers become more informed about their sleep and health.

“Our technology is not only providing life-changing, quality sleep but is enabling richer insights about sleep than previously available to consumers,” Mushtaq noted. “AI has really changed the game. The more data the 360^® smart beds obtain, the more we can improve our features and benefits for our sleepers, offering both increased value and peace of mind.”

Sleep Number continues to engage leading researchers in the world and has a close partnership with multiple leading research institutions as well as a scientific advisory board composed of an interdisciplinary team of scientists, experts, and researchers.

Our advancements have one goal: to provide seamless integration of sleep science to sleepers, so that they’re benefiting night after night,” he added. “With the advancements in AI, sensors, and data we have, we are redefining how health and wellness are viewed by consumers and delivered — from home, in the comfort of a smart bed.”