/ 12 January 2015

CES 2015: Now for a smart bed for kids

Ces 2015: Now For A Smart Bed For Kids

At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas last week, Sleep Number, which describes itself as a “sleep innovation leader”, introduced the SleepIQ Kids bed. Dubbed a smart bed for smart kids, SleepIQ Kids is the only bed in the world that adjusts with children as they grow. 

It combines individualised sleep knowledge and adjustability to empower parents and children to achieve their best possible sleep. There’s nothing to wear or turn on. All kids have to do is sleep.

The SleepIQ Kids bed was selected as an Honoree in the 2015 CES Innovations Awards in the home appliances category. 

According to a Sleep Number sleep survey, a majority of parents find it difficult to ensure their kids get enough quality sleep each night. Almost 80% say sleep impacts their child’s performance in school, and 68% say it affects their child’s extracurricular activities. 

The SleepIQ Kids bed helps parents learn about their kids’ sleep and how it impacts their day, giving parents and kids the tools they need to improve their sleep.

“Every parent can relate to the nightly family bedtime ritual and wanting it to be a meaningful time to connect with their children. As parents know, bedtime doesn’t always turn out that way,” said Annie Bloomquist, senior vice president and chief product officer at Sleep Number. 

“The SleepIQ Kids bed turns bedtime into quality time, making it a fun, enjoyable experience. It shows parents and kids how to achieve great sleep habits with smart features that help guide and coach, giving kids a great night’s sleep tonight to be their best tomorrow.”

Eight smart solutions
The company says the SleepIQ Kids bed features these eight smart solutions that improve sleep for both parents and children:

  1. Family connected, sleep perfected: The SleepIQ technology sleep dashboard lets parents see how the whole family is sleeping. 
  2. Know the comfort they’re getting: The bed adjusts and grows with kids. They can adjust the firmness of their bed for comfort and support – their Sleep Number setting. 
  3. Lifts them up when they’re down: Head-tilt feature is for reading in bed or comforting stuffy heads. 
  4. No more kiddos jumping out of bed: Alerts parents when their child is out of bed or restless. 
  5. Stars for young dreamers: Make bedtime fun again with rewards for good sleep. 
  6. Night bright, night light: Parents can turn lights off remotely, when their kids are sleeping tight. 
  7. Twinkle, tinkle: Soft under-bed light guides children when they get up during the night. 
  8. Monsters be gone!: Sleepyheads rest easy with a fearless monster detector.

The SleepIQ technology monitors presence in bed, average breathing, average heart rate and movement, using a full-body algorithm to assess quality of sleep, assigning a SleepIQ score for each night’s sleep.

Parents and kids can monitor routines that affect sleep, such as exercise, caffeine and screen time; learn their child’s individual level of comfort and support of their bed (sleep number setting), and make adjustments to give their kids quality sleep, helping them develop healthy sleep routines now and for life.

Managing sleep
Designed to be flexible and adaptable for each child’s situation and age, the SleepIQ technology can be used by parents to help guide and coach good sleep routines for young children. It evolves as kids get older to use by themselves to manage their sleep. The SleepIQ Kids bed provides adjustability to accommodate kids’ growing bodies and their need for the appropriate support, comfort and spinal alignment.

Four-to-six-year-olds need help with their sleep routines, but by age seven to nine, kids start managing their own sleep and using smart devices. They can use the SleepIQ technology to coach and encourage them. 

Around ages 10 to 12, kids become more independent and have more to manage with homework, exams and other activities. At this age, they can use the SleepIQ technology to help them manage their own sleep and SleepIQ score.

Parents and children can view the sleep dashboard to see how well they slept and how their sleep was impacted by daily activities such as sports, studies, exercise, stress and late night snacks. They learn what to do to achieve better sleep each night. Equipped with their child’s individual sleep knowledge, parents can help their kids achieve optimal sleep. Establishing good sleep habits now sets kids up for a lifetime of quality sleep.

Sleep Number’s proprietary products are available exclusively at sleepnumber.com and at company-owned Sleep Number stores in the United States. The SleepIQ Kids bed will start at around $1 000. 

For more information, visit www.SleepIQKids.com.

Follow Gadget on Twitter @GadgetZA.