May 12, 2022
While sleep disorders are relatively common issues that people can experience, they often remain undiagnosed and, as such, go untreated. Disorders, such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, insomnia and sleepwalking can take their toll on a person’s personal health and relationships, mental health and can decrease their overall productivity, both at work and at home.
In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the use of sleep aids, such as home sleep tests, which are used to diagnose sleep apnea. There has also been an increase in demand for sleeping pills, as a result of people experiencing increasingly stressful lifestyles. These are a few of the major driving factors for the sleep aid market.
In fact, the global market for sleep aids should grow from $81.2 billion in 2020 to $112.7 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% for the forecast period 2020-2025. What’s more, for the same forecast period:
Normal human sleep involves two states: rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. These two states alternate with one another, cyclically, across a sleep episode.
Readings taken during NREM sleep shows a variably synchronous cortical electroencephalogram (EEG) and is associated with low muscle tone and marginal psychological activity. An EEG reading taken during REM sleep is desynchronized – and during this state, muscles are atonic and dreaming takes place.
Normal sleep commences in the NREM state and advances through deeper NREM stages (two, three and four) before the first spell of REM sleep, which occurs about 80 to 100 minutes later. After that, NREM sleep and REM sleep alternate every 90 minutes.
Despite the relatively short history of sleep and sleep disorder research, significant progress has been made in the field over the last few decades. Recent significant discoveries include the discovery of hypocretin/orexin and its role in sustaining wakefulness, which has had a profound impact on the diagnosis and treatment of narcolepsy.
People in developed countries worldwide face two main challenges when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep:
Throughout the day, people tend to stress about their daily lives, and at night, they stress about getting to sleep. Ultimately, there is a disconnect in our collective understanding of the importance of sleep, and that it is a natural process fundamentally supported by reducing stress and anxiety.
Unfortunately, in modern societies, people often work to the point of burnout or, indeed, exhaustion – repeatedly. However, this vicious cycle simply does not lead to true rest. Alongside sleep and anxiety, sleep deprivation is also caused by too much caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. Work patterns, including night shifts and working at a computer before going to bed are also factors that prohibit individuals from developing natural, healthy sleeping patterns.
Progress in the field of sleep is fast paced. Researchers are learning more every day about different types of sleep disorders. We are now also witnessing a technology surge – particularly in the field of sleep apnea – with the culmination of home sleep study tests.
Historically, people with sleep disorders were expected to go to sleep centers for diagnosis, which they were reluctant to do; they disliked the idea of sleeping in a strange place with electrodes hooked onto their bodies. Now, people are able – and prefer to – carry out tests in the comfort of their own home.
Home sleep study tests can diagnose sleep apnea with the same degree of accuracy as the machines used in sleep centers. However, the data that home sleep study tests provide is limited – it is simply the convenience that is appealing to users.
In the consumer world of sleep, the list of electronic gadgets continues to thrive in two areas:
At consumer electronics tradeshows, it is common to see booths showcasing apps, sound machines and various types of wearables that suit the needs of the sleep deprived. These exhibits show examples of home use, bedside, or inside-the-bed devices to measure sleep, movement, heart rate, blood pressure and sleep stages,
Most of these gadgets are easy to use and very accurate, while different type of sound machines provides white noise to mask unwanted external or internal sounds that suit the needs of their end user.
In the form of new sleep-related comfort devices, mattresses and pillows are a growing trend. Hundreds of new styles of mattresses made of durable springs and ultra-smooth foams have entered the sleep improvement market in the last few years. There are products that help people warm up or cool down during sleep, to have light on one side of the bed, to help parents who have children with night terrors and to help women sleep better based on their menstrual cycles.
These trends are working to enrich the sleep experience and helping the sleep aids market trend towards the cutting edge in technology in many ways.
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