A Dream World

Sleep aids from clever cots to mattress monitors

Many new parents would pay anything for a good night’s sleep, and it turns out that ‘anything’ might mean £1,145. That’s what the SNOO Smart Sleeper Baby Cot costs, but if it works then it’s priceless. The SNOO has sensors to detect baby’s movement and responds with calming sounds and motion, helping to settle fractious babies and help them learn to self-soothe. It’s all controlled via a smartphone app that also enables you to get daily sleep reports and healthy sleep tips. Smart beds aren’t just for babies. From smart mattresses using a mix of memory foam and other supportive fabrics (to keep you comfortable without making your bed feel like an oven) to smart beds that are packed with technology, there are lots of bedtime options for every body shape and every kind of sleeper. Most of the beds dubbed smart beds are really just connected beds, so for example the £1,999 Hargen Smart Bed’s smart features are Bluetooth audio, a password-protected built-in safe and a remote-controlled massage feature. But you can make any bed a smart bed by adding some sleep sensors such as Withings’ Sleep Analyzer (£90). This fits under your mattress and communicates with your phone, enabling you to track your sleep patterns and monitor conditions such as sleep apnoea that may be preventing you from getting a good night’s sleep. If you’d rather use a wearable, the Apple Watch and many wearable fitness trackers such as Garmin and Fitbit trackers can track your sleep. The available features vary by product but they can typically distinguish between deep and light sleep, and in some cases they can even monitor your oxygen saturation and heart rate to get a fuller picture of your sleep habits. You can use that information to identify the things that might be interfering with your sleep, especially if you also use your phone’s health app to track other data such as exercise or alcohol intake: the more data you have about your body, the easier it becomes to identify triggers and trends that you can take steps to change.

SNOO Smart Sleeper

The award-winning SNOO promises to lull baby to sleep by responding to their movements with soothing motions and womb-like sounds. £1,145 from happiestbaby.co.uk

Hargen Smart Bed

Smart refers to the design rather than the tech: the Hargen bed is packed with storage cubbyholes as well as a stereo speaker system with Bluetooth connectivity. £1,999 from sleekliving.co.uk

Apple Watch Series 6

Apple’s own sleep-tracking system is really good, particularly now the Apple Watch doesn’t require recharging every night. There are stacks of third-party sleep-tracking apps too. £349 from apple.com

Withings Sleep Analyzer

Turn any bed into a smart bed with this clever sleep sensor. It tracks your sleep through the night (or day) and sends the data to your phone so you can identify trends. £89.95 from amazon.co.uk