Whether it’s in your nature to put family first, or you’re squeezing in extra hours at work, it turns out the first thing we are ready to sacrifice is our sleep. We neglect to put ourselves first and forget that our wellbeing and quality of life can be impacted. According to the Philips Global Sleep Survey published in 2019, over two-thirds of us don’t sleep as well as we’d like, and the majority of the global population experiences sleep deprivation. The World Sleep Society has made it its mission to change that.
March 18th is known globally as World Sleep Day, an annual event that brings together healthcare professionals to share their expertise on how sleep can improve both our physical and mental health. There’s tons of smart tech you can currently buy on the market which aims to aid sleep, from sleep cubes to headbands to warming socks, but why not let your house be the only sleep aid you need? The Lightwave team recognise the importance of sleep in taking care of our daily wellbeing. We have formulated the following tips to help you weave our technology into the very fabric of your home to promote healthy sleep.
From Abrupt to Gentle
Our bodies have a natural Time Estimation Ability, a biological clock that tracks our sleep and wakes us when needed. As we grow older and our schedules continuously change, our natural ability to regulate sleep patterns weakens. We have to contend with constantly switching from an alarm clock jolting us awake at 6:45 am to having a lie-in on the weekends. This abrupt feeling can be turned into a gentle nudge by connecting the lights in your bedroom to Lightwave Smart Dimmers. Simply set up an automation in the Lightwave app, which will slowly increase the brightness of your room. This will simulate the sun rising and give your body time to wake up naturally, saving you from that pesky alarm.
Cosy Room, Cosy Sleep
Whether you like to wrap up like a layered burrito or sleep under a thin blanket, room temperature plays a vital role in deciding the quality of sleep. The National Sleep Foundation* has found the best temperature for our bedroom is between 15°C and 19°C. The majority of people have a strong preference for a cooler room. This is a task for your Lightwave Smart Thermostat! It can keep your daytime house temperature suited to your taste. Then an hour before bed, it will reduce your bedroom temperature to create an ideal sleep environment, making your room irresistible to drift away in.
Hit the Hay With a Relay
While they may not look glamorous, Lightwave Smart Relays are versatile devices hidden within your electrical circuits. Adding one of these clever devices to your home will allow you to control many aspects of your bedtime routine. This is on top of managing your lighting, heating, and energy consumption. A smart relay can handle such tasks as closing the blinds at a scheduled time, turning off water features, controlling the outdoor lighting in your garden and shutting your garage for extra security. A smart relay can be connected to the rest of the bedtime routine using your Lightwave app, or you can ask your voice-controlled device to do it for you. It’s as simple as saying “Alexa, close the blinds”.
“Alexa, Bed Time”
The Lightwave system is compatible with Amazon’s Alexa, Apple HomeKit and Google Assistant, so take advantage of your pocket-size voice companion. You also have complete full control of lighting and heating in your Lightwave app, so you can initiate it when you aren’t home. There may be nights that you wish to start your bedtime routine earlier or later so let your little buddy know when to begin adjusting the lighting and heating by saying, “Alexa, bedtime”.
Sleep Safe
They might appear mysterious, but our Lightwave Smart Sockets pack a punch with the things they can achieve. You can aim for an energy-efficient sleep and in your Lightwave app, you can set a time at which all sockets will switch off, or you can keep one on by your bed to charge your phone. This will reduce energy costs as devices that drain standby power will be turned off at night and back on in the morning, ready to be used. Since automations are stored locally on the Lightwave Link Plus Hub, all devices will still operate, and your morning routine will run accordingly, even if you turn off your Wi-Fi router. If you aim for more security when you sleep, you can keep the smart sockets with the most valuable devices plugged-in swtiched on and get a notification if anything is unplugged.
Wake Up Your Home With Motion Sensors
Brand new Lightwave Motion Sensors will soon be available to purchase on the website. So you’ll be able to really raise your sleeping game. Positioning motion sensors at your bedroom door can trigger the lights in your hallway and kitchen, and keep the rest of the house in the dark for maximum energy efficiency. For a comfortable morning routine, create an automation in your Lightwave app. Keep your lights dim for the 20 minutes after waking up, then gradually brighten them to give your sleepy eyes time to adjust and settle into the day. If you choose to switch off some, or all, of your smart sockets at night, the motion sensors can switch them all back on again once they sense you are awake.
There are limitless automations, scenes and routines you can create, using the widest range of devices to turn your home into the ultimate cosy pad. Have a play, and let us know how you use your Lightwave smart home to get a better night’s sleep!
Get Involved!
If you want to get involved in World Sleep Day, you can plan and submit an activity within your community or become a volunteer at: https://worldsleepday.org/. Sleep tight!
Photos courtesy of Fifi McGee. Check out the Fifi McGee website where the couple have documented every step of their Lightwave journey. Fi and Neil also share guides, courses and tools to help anyone else tackling similar renovation projects.