To sleep or Not to sleep

Sleep, once seen as a thing to do less if you needed to succeed, is currently a "measure of success — a skill to be developed and nourished" as per a New York Times article. A sleep focused industry is booming in response, offering the tired masses everything from sleep tracking devices to special goggles intended to reset your interior clock. This raises an important question however: With all we know about how screens can disturb our sleep, are tech-centered solutions truly our best options?

On one hand, writers paint an empowering picture of just how wide the pro sleep movement has spread: From Jeff Bezos to the Army, an ever increasing number of individuals and organizations are recognizing the significance of a good night's sleep for enhanced performance. Studies have also connected lack of sleep to a large group of intellectual and physical issues from impaired decision making to trouble recognizing feelings.

Many know first hand the magic of an great night's rest, something sleep specialists confirm: "Sleep is the absolute best thing you can do to reset your mind and body," Matthew P. Walker, Ph.D., from the University of California Berkeley tells NYT. It's even turning into a tool that you can use to gain an edge in work and life.

Sleep is a "human potential enhancer," Marian Salzman, a trend spotter and CEO of Havas PR North America, telling NYT, "I can see sleep being another weapon in competitive parenting and career- building."

Utilizing technology to help unplug and sleep is however complicated. Latest research in view of anecdotal evidence suggests that using sleep trackers may make individuals so worried about getting great sleep (and meeting a quantitative objective) that they fail to get the rest they require.

To summarize, the cons of bringing a screen-based sleep gadget into the bedroom may outweigh the potential pros. "If you want to enhance your sleep, you need to roll out a few changes. Your Fitbit and your Apple Watch are not going to do it for you," Nancy H. Rothstein, chief of Circadian Corporate Sleep Programs tells NYT. "We've lost the simplicity of sleep. So much of writing, so many sites, so much stuff. I'm thinking. Just rest. I want to say: 'Shh. Make it dim, quiet and cool. Take a bath.'"

While we believe that well- planned technology can prompt self-change, if the answer requires bringing a screen into your bedroom, consider a simpler choice (like good sleep hygiene and unplugging at least 30 minutes before bed) to get the rest you need.