Market Overview

Various industries and business are eager to use Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital technologies including IoT, VR & AR, 4K & 8K, 5G, robotic equipment, and cutting edge ICT to offer new values and systems in the form of solutions. Such a trend to combine existing value with new technologies, which is called X-Tech, as it is expressed as “Something x Technology”, e.g. Fintech (finance x tech), food tech (food x tech), etc.

In this sense, sleep tech is the coined word from Sleep and Technology. Sleep tech is those devices, gadgets, systems, and services designed to enhance sleep through analysis of sleep states by utilizing IT and AI, and collecting bodily process data.

The trend to use state-of-the art technologies as mentioned above is observed in sleep, increasing the services to measure and visualize sleep statuses to evaluate sleep quality and to give sleep enhancement advices. In measuring sleep, sensors are used for various indicators, such as body motion, breathing, heart rate, snoring noise, body temperature, temperature inside the bed, electroencephalography, myoelectricity, etc.

In addition, IoT products and services are now available that are linked to air conditioners, furniture, lighting fixtures, audio equipment, and other devices to improve sleep quality by means of light, temperature, and sound thereby encouraging comfortable sleep onset, deep sleep, and awakening. Furthermore, in recent years, companies have been offering services not only for individuals but also for corporations aiming at health management.

Noteworthy Topics

Expanding Sleep Enhancement Solution Services

A variety of solution services for providing better sleep environment include the use of “light” to encourage sleep onset and awakening by automatically operating light fixtures and curtains, the use “music” to make the body and soul relaxed before sleep and to make the deep sleep hours longer by playing music, and the use of “temperature” to connecting measuring devices embedded in air conditioners, mattresses, and other beddings to adjust the room temperature. Some overseas manufacturers have released products that control the temperature within the bed by circulating water within the mattress.

Based on such sleep measurement there are services to support sleep enhancement and behavior modification. Some of such services include those that use smartphone apps to score daily sleep statuses, provide sleep-dedicated information based on such scores by AI or specialists, and make advices to improve living. Some companies developing fitness trackers offer some services that analyze and give advice by combining the data on daytime exercises. These services have been provided at first to individual clients, but in recent years, they have been adopted to support health management and safety-and-health at companies.

Future Outlook

The sleep tech market size in 2022, calculated by targeting the sales of sleep-tech related bedding products and home appliances, and the usage fees for apps, services, and systems, is projected to achieve 6,000 million yen, 133.3% of the size of the previous year. The sleep tech market is the field under technological innovation, so that it has potential to make remarkable progress in a few years.

For sleep measurement, evolution of comfortable fitting of dedicated devices, and further minimization of sensors to be embedded in smartphones, smartwatches, and wrist bands, may lead to advent of those devices that dispense with recognition of being sensed, soon.

Non-contact sleep measurement is also expected to be developed, such as through EEG (Electroencephalography) utilizing millimeter waves, a system to monitor images to evaluate respiration rate real time by comparing posture changes, etc.

Research Outline