Researchers at Japan's Sleep Research Institute ave made a new pillow that offers pointers on how to get a good night's sleep.
The pillow, called Sleep Doctor, analyzes how people sleep and then provides 40 kinds of advice and encouragement on a tiny screen.
The pillow has sensors measuring peoples' head and body movements to calculate how much "pleasant sleep they've had on a scale of 30 to 95 percent.
"If you've been sleeping badly for several days, the pillow will tell you, for example, `Why don't you take it easy tonight. Try taking a long bath,'" says Naomi Adachi, head of Lofty, a company that sells the pillow.
"Or else on good sleeping days, it will (tell you) things like, `You've been sleeping great, keep it up.'"The pillow can also record sleeping patterns over a two-week period.
"By doing so, the person becomes aware of sleeping habits, and if (they're) bad, tries to improve (them)."
"But this pillow is not designed for you to fall asleep easier," warns Adachi. "It is designed to make people develop good sleeping habits. It's a tool to help people ... take better care of themselves."
The company plans to sell the pillow in September in Japan and overseas, including parts of Asia and North America.
People in Japan often do not get enough sleep because of long working hours.
(AFP)
日本睡眠研究學會的研究人員已研製出一款會告訴人們如何一夜好棉的新枕頭.這款名為"睡眠博士"的枕頭在分析人們的睡眠狀況後,會透過枕頭上的小螢幕給予四十種不同的建議和鼓勵.
內置於枕頭中的感應器檢測人們頭部及身體的活動,並以30%到95%的級數來計算"熟睡程度".
販售這款枕頭的Lofty公司主席安達直美(直譯)說:"如果你好些天都沒睡好,這個枕頭會告訴你:"今晚何不放鬆一下?試著洗個舒服的澡吧"之類的訊息.'
`相反的,如果你這幾晚睡得很香甜,它就會說:"你這陣子睡得很好,繼續保持."'"睡眠博士"還能紀錄使用者兩星期內的睡眠狀態.
`這種枕頭能讓民眾留意自己的睡眠習慣,如果習慣不好,還能試圖改善.'
安達直美還提醒:`設計這款枕頭的目的不是為了要讓你更容易入眠,而是要讓人們養成良好的睡眠習慣.它是用來幫助民眾更妥善照顧自己的工具.'
Lofty公司計畫九月在日本及亞洲和北美等部份地區銷售這款枕頭.
日本民眾普遍因為長時間工作而有睡眠不足的情況.
翻譯:林倩如
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