The Future of Sleep – Sleep Trends In 2023 And Beyond

Sleep is something us humans have always done, it is naturally built into our circadian rhythm and is vital for every aspect of our health and wellbeing.  But as we have evolved, sleep has fallen down our list of priorities and it is only now that we’re realising we’ve hit a problematic sleep crisis, a global pandemic if you like.

The sleep trends in 2023 suggest that finally we are taking this matter seriously. The future of sleep is an interesting one and we’re here today to share 6 sleep trends that we think will pave the way for a better understanding of how we can help get back to more naturally functioning sleep patterns. Let’s take a look:

Sleep Tech

How ironic that the very thing that is keeping us awake at night, is also the thing that may well help us sleep better in the future.

Maybe you already make use of the sleep tracking function on your smart watch, perhaps you’ve got one of those daylight alarm clocks that help you wake naturally, or you might already wear clever cooling nightwear that regulates your body temperature for a perfect night’s sleep . However, sleep technology of the future is set to become way more impressive.

Sleep trends in 2023 and beyond forecast we’ll be using:

• Smart Pyjamas – Instead of relying on your smart watch to download all your sleep data, in the future we can expect to see nightwear kitted out with small chips that will do just that and more. Tracking things like REM, deep and light sleep, as well as breathing, hear rate, blood pressure and skin conductivity, wearers will be able to gain extensive insight into the quality of their sleep simply by wearing a smart set of pyjamas.
• Smart Beds – Similarly, beds and mattresses are set to be kitted out with sensors to measure important sleep data including how we respond to factors such as pressure, light, and temperature. Cleverly, these will be linked up to other devices that are able to change the room temperature and light settings to create a fully personalised sleep environment.
• AI Powered Devices – As technology improves, AI devices will be capable of learning an individual’s sleep patterns, suggesting improvements and producing tailoring made plans to optimise their sleep.

Braincations

Digital detoxes are so last year, if you want to keep on top of the sleep trends in 2023, it is all about the braincation.

Braincations, as the name would suggest, are about making a conscious effort to take a vacation for your brain. And what this means in terms of sleep is gaining a better understanding and a more mindful approach of how you treat your brain in the daytime so that it can switch off more easily during the night time.

Ways in which this can be achieved is through techniques such as:

• Meditation – More specifically therapeutic binaural sound wave meditation.
• Surrounding yourself in nature – This helps to activate the default mode network in the brain; the regions of the brain we use when we daydream and allows passive rest.
• Dream journaling – If you frequently experience hyper realistic dreams it could be your brain signalling that it’s struggling. One way to help is by writing down your nightly visions in a dream diary. This brain dump will help clear your mind and allow it to process and reset, which should result in a more peaceful night’s sleep.

Sleep Nutrition

We’re all up to score with the detrimental effects of caffeine and alcohol on sleep. And we know that eating a nutritiously balanced diet and drinking plenty of water is good for all our bodily functions. But what about products specifically aimed at improving the quality of our sleep?

In recent years, there has been a boom in performance based nutrition. However, it is now being recognised how important sleep is for all round good health and wellbeing and thankfully companies are responding to this greater understanding and demand. Moving forward, brands are now starting to take a much more holistic approach when thinking about their future product ranges. These involve the use of nootropics, adaptogens and CBD based products to support people’s overall wellness, cognitive performance, sleep, and stress management.

You could be eating the healthiest foods and keeping active every day, but if you aren’t sleeping well both these factors mean very little. Sleep affects every part of our physiology. From our immunity, our mental health, tissue repair, endurance, cell regeneration, bone health, you name it, sleep plays a big part in all areas. In 2023 and beyond, we will start to see the wider nutrition market step up to the mark, offering us products containing ingredients to help our sleep health fall into line with our physical and mental health too.

Sleep Cheating

What if we could survive quite healthily and function just as well on less sleep than we supposedly need? That we could literally ‘cheat sleep’? Well, scientists believe that the future of sleep is heading this way.

Already, we sleep less than we did in the 1970s; the average person slept between 7 – 8 hours whereas these days this has dropped to 6 – 7 hours. If this trend continues, in the next 40 or 50 years this could have further decreased to 5 – 6 hours. But is this a problem? Seemingly so, because as we know getting enough sleep isn’t just about how we feel, it’s about the health of our bodies and minds. And surely if we don’t get enough sleep there has to be some pretty big repercussions in the longer term.

Which is where science will come to our rescue. Because the big problem is, we’re busy, ridiculously busy. We’re switched on all the time, we’ve got so much on, we have more demands on us than ever before, and we don’t want to miss out. There aren’t enough hours in the day, but we know we need to sleep, and so one solution is to cheat sleep. To be able to optimise our sleep in such a way that we need less of it, but the sleep that we do get is of the deepest and highest quality.

Again, technology will play a part, with gadgets such as trans-cranial brain stimulation and implants helping to comfort boost our sleep. Both will likely be operated via a smartphone app, transmitting pulses into the body that sends the user into a trance-like state for a few minutes, and is believed to be as refreshing as a full night’s sleep.

Sleep Coaches

You’ve heard of business coaches, lifestyle coaches, personal coach, spiritual coach… well now it’s time to make way for the sleep coach. Using the services of a sleep coach is set to be one of the biggest sleep trends of 2023 and for very good reason.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. We’ve forgotten how to sleep. As babies we need to be taught when to sleep, how to sleep for longer periods of time, how to self soothe, and how to get ourselves back off to sleep if we wake during the night. Yet as adults, we’ve usually developed so many bad habits, such as too much screen time, too much junk food, too much caffeine, too much or not enough exercise, that it really comes as no great surprise that many of us are struggling just as much as a newborn baby does!

Sleep sessions with your coach could involve dealing with conditions such as sleep apnea, teeth grinding, sleep paralysis, sleep walking, menopausal night sweats etc. Sleep trends in 2023 and beyond will see visits to your sleep coach as normal as going to your dentist and doctor for your annual check up. And don’t be surprised if your coach isn’t human, as AI sleep coaches are highly likely to be the way moving forward.

Sleep Retreats

And finally, another trend to emerge in the sleep market is the sleep retreat; a sanctuary to visit to restore your wellbeing, charge up your batteries, and to get some much needed shut eye.

Whether it’s a spa style day retreat or a fully comprehensive weekend retreat, sleep retreats are offering a range of different services to ensure visitors get the opportunity to up their snooze levels and come away equipped with the knowledge and sleep tools to use in at home.

Services and treatments include:

• Pillow menus – What you rest your head on can have a huge impact on how well you sleep. A range of different pillows gives you the chance to try before you buy.
• Sleep coaches – Therapy sessions and sleep training will help you get to the bottom of your sleep based problems.
• Nutritionists – Including melatonin and serotonin based meals to educate you on how nutrition can play a part in a good night’s sleep.
• Relaxation – Sound baths, quiet rooms, water beds, meditation sessions, all designed to help you switch off and nod off.

So, there you have it, 6 sleep trends in 2023 that are ensuring the future of our sleep just got a whole lot more interesting. Which one do you like the sound of most?