So you’ve tiptoed downstairs, not really sure whether your child will settle in for the night or you’ll be up and downstairs with that last drink/extra story/monster under the bed. It’s all quiet. But is your child really asleep? If, like many of us, you’re not quite sure about how much sleep your little ones are getting, help is at hand with a revolutionary new invention – the Smart Bed.
What is a Smart Bed?
A smart bed is one that is designed to track your sleeping patterns so that you’re aware of how well (or not) you’re sleeping, how many times you’re up in the night, and in short, measures your breathing rate, movement, and average heart rate whilst you sleep. If you have a nightmare, this bed will know about it! The measurements taken by the bed, by the way of an intricate network of sensors, feeds directly into a cloud based app that can be viewed on a computer, and can even provide suggestions on how to improve your slumber. Select comfort, who manufacture these Smart Beds, advise that the device can be switched off if you wish, and none of your sleep data will be shared with third parties, so your privacy is assured.
What’s the kids’ version like?
The SleepIQ Kids bed, is an innovative new way to keep track of your childrens’ sleep pattern, ensuring that you’re aware if they get up in the night, and it’ll even reassure your little darlings that there’s nothing under the bed that’ll cause them even a moments worry. The kid’s bed works pretty much the same way as the adult X12 version, but contains lights that will guide your child if they get up in the dark, which may prevent any accidents in the night. The lights will also reassure your little one that there is no monster under the bed, and may even help them to quickly go back to sleep without you having to enter the room. Having said that, you will know they’ve been up, via the app, but if your child is able to self-settle this could ensure that you’re promoting a good sleep routine for your child instead of them thinking you’ll pop up there at a moments notice. The app that parents can access to view the sleep data of their children will also help give advice on settling your child off to sleep, and this is something that many parents will surely relish, especially if their kids are between the ages of 4 and 6, where proper sleep patterns are being established. We’re all aware of the importance of children getting a good nights sleep and there have been many studies into how lack of sleep can limit mental function, making learning more difficult, and can affect mood, causing depression, lethargy and even changes in personality. Click here to check some of the best beds for kids.
Are there any doubts?
Of course some people aren’t so sure about the bed, and there have been some who worry about there being an alert every time a child get’s up. Some may think that having a light show may encourage a child to play games with the bed, but in many parents opinion, this bed can ease the worry about how well their child is sleeping, and tick one concern off the list of the many worries we have as parents. Of course this is only one of the first forays into the Smart bed market for kids, an alternative is looking at the Mattress Sales for a more cost effective alternative. What we can almost guarantee is that monitoring sleep patterns will only improve the quality of our kids much needed nights sleep.