3 trillion won sleep tech market competition
1.24 million people treated for sleep disorders last year
Intense development of technology to help you sleep
Applying AI to heating mats and pillows
Adjust the bed angle for easier breathing
Move the pillow to reduce snoring
Enlarge photo Yoo Jae-hwan, an office worker in his 50s, had a different sleeping experience after changing his bed and pillow. After switching to a bed that allows you to adjust the angle of your body depending on your sleeping pattern, such as whether you sleep on your back or on your side, your sleep became much deeper. After using a pillow that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze breathing sounds and adjust the pillow height, snoring has become much weaker. Mr. Yu said, “Thanks to the new bed and pillows, I feel much more refreshed than in the past when I wake up.”
Sleeptech small and medium-sized companies and startups are competing to take over the domestic sleep market, which has grown to 3 trillion won. In addition to adjusting the height of the bed and pillow to find the optimal angle for a good night’s sleep, products have also been released that help you sleep well by changing the mattress hardness or mat temperature. As the number of modern people who cannot sleep properly due to stress, etc. increases, the related market is expected to continue to grow.
According to the SleepTech industry on the 4th, healthcare home appliance company Body Friend introduced the ‘La Cloud Health Motion’, a bed that can adjust the angle of the upper and lower body by moving the motion frame, and is gaining great popularity among ‘insomniacs’. There are four healthcare modes: ‘Easy to breathe’, ‘Easy to stomach’, ‘Easy to waist’, and ‘Easy to legs’, of which the ‘Easy to breathe’ mode provides a good sleeping environment.
Based on the results of research conducted by Bodyfriend Medical R&D Center considering the user’s health status, lifestyle, and condition, the motion height is adjusted to an angle that allows breathing comfortably without waking up during sleep.
Coway’s ‘Beerex Smart Mattress’ (pictured) adjusts the mattress hardness according to the user’s taste, body type, and sleeping posture through the slip cell in the mattress and the smart control system. Unlike existing mattresses, it is characterized by the use of a material called slipcell instead of springs. There are 80 sleep cells per queen size, and the mattress hardness changes depending on the density of air injected into the sleep cells.
Through ‘4 Zone Smart Hardness Control’, it is also possible to adjust it to suit the body type for each body part, including shoulders, waist, hips, and legs. It is also possible to adjust the hardness of one bed by separating it into left and right sides, like two independent beds. It also has functions for sound sleep and relaxation. Stretching cells on the head, waist, and legs move repeatedly 3 to 5 times, providing a comfortable sleeping environment through smart intensive care that helps relax muscles in each area.
In the pillow sector, which can be said to be the two main pillars of a good night’s sleep along with the bed, the strength of startups is noticeable. TenMinds’ ‘AI Motion Pillow’ helps you sleep well by detecting snoring sounds and inflating the airbag to adjust the height of the pillow. According to TenMinds’ analysis of 1,893 cases of user data under the age of 30, snoring time decreased from an average of 76 minutes when not using the AI Motion Pillow to an average of 37 minutes after using the product. In the AI Motion Pillow user test conducted on all age groups, the average snoring improvement rate reached 44%.
Kyungdong Navien launched ‘Navien Deep Sleep Mat Warm Water’ using AI-based deep sleep technology last September. This is a product in collaboration with sleep tech company A-Sleep, and is equipped with an ‘AI sleep mode’ function that detects breathing sounds during sleep, analyzes sleep stages, and automatically adjusts the mat temperature. When you install the ‘Navien Smart’ app on your smartphone and link it with the product, the smartphone detects and analyzes breathing sounds during sleep. When analyzed through polysomnography, which is performed by attaching various sensors to the body during sleep, the rate of light sleep decreased by 7.9% with the use of AI sleep mode, and conversely, REM sleep time increased by 30.8% and deep sleep time increased by 124%.
Ceragem, the No. 1 healthcare home appliance company, is developing the ‘Master Medical Bed’, a bed-type healthcare platform that can accommodate various medical devices in the bed.
Meanwhile, according to the National Health Insurance Corporation, the number of people who received treatment for sleep disorders and non-organic sleep disorders last year reached 1.24 million, and the total medical expenses were 322.7 billion won. This figure includes all symptoms of inability to sleep due to emotional reasons, nightmares, night terrors, sleepwalking, insomnia, sleep apnea, and hypersomnia.
[서정원 기자]