#25: Sour Dreams
Making sleep less of a nightmare.
As a new grad, I look forward to catching up on all the lost shut-eye from these past four years of university. So to dive back into Healthy Returns, this week’s newsletter is all about sleep.
Wide Awake
Setting my sights on better sleep, I’m not alone—Gen Z is sleeping worse than previous generations:
9 in 10 Gen Zers stay up “past their bedtime” to use social media.
More than half of adolescents with insomnia also suffer from depression or anxiety.
30% of teens consume energy drinks regularly, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Not a total nightmare, younger generations are still leading the self-care and wellness movement. Sleep Number data suggests Gen Z and millennials are going to bed earlier and sleeping for longer than before.
Cashing in on Zzzs
Still, generations young and old are struggling with their sleep, fueling today’s $585B sleep economy market. From mobile apps to blue-light-blocking glasses to sleepy-time supplements, the solutions seem endless.
Wearables
WHOOP tracks the four stages of sleep and suggests sleep duration based on activity strain and sleep debt.
Oura Ring measures skin temperature, among other biometrics, to determine a daily Sleep Score.
Apollo devices send soothing vibrations throughout the body to help users relax and fall asleep.
Smart Aids
Eight Sleep just released its new AI-powered, temperature-regulating mattress cover, the Pod 4.
DeRucci showcased a smart, anti-snoring pillow earlier this year at CES 2024.
Sleep masks offer everything from temperature control to eye massagers.
Sleeping Pills
Magnesium glycinate supplements are recommended to relax the mind and the body before bedtime.
Lion’s mane mushroom products supposedly improve REM sleep.
Melatonin remains the number one sleep supplement—though new safety regulations have been announced, owing to a spike in pediatric ER visits from accidental melatonin gummy use.
Slumber Party
Four startups have already joined the slumber party this year, landing venture funding for their novel additions to the sleep tech market.
Harbor |$3.7m Seed|
State-of-the-art baby monitor device with local WiFi fail-safe.
AI-enabled solution for low-stress baby monitoring, allowing new parents much-needed sleep.
Seed round led by Trust Ventures with notable participation from former tennis pro John Isner, and Austin-based human performance fund TXV Partners.
Stellar Sleep |$6m Seed|
Digital cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic insomnia management.
Stellar’s Mobile app was found to be 50% more effective than sleeping pills.
Seeded by the likes of Y Combinator, Moonfire Ventures, and Goodwater Capital.
HoneyNaps |$11.6m Series B|
South Korean startup offering AI diagnosis of sleeping disorders.
Gained FDA approval for flagship “SOMNUM” software in 2023, capable of diagnosing sleep disorders within 5 minutes.
Plans to bring solutions to the US market and expand applications of AI into other disease areas.
Onera Health |$32m Series C|
FDA cleared “polysomnography-as-a-service.”
Helping clinicians conduct sleep studies in patients’ homes.
Funds will accelerate clearance of their second-generation at-home sleep diagnostic.
Bed-Time Rules
Offering a simpler approach rooted in the science of circadian rhythm, experts tout specific actions throughout the day leading to better sleep at night. Tips include 1) getting sunlight early in the morning; 2) waiting 90 minutes after waking to consume caffeine; 3) having your final meal at least 2 hours before bed; and 4) dimming the lights in your home after 7pm.
Famed sleep doctor, Dr. Matthew Walker, profiles sleep using the acronym “QQRT”, which stands for quality, quantity, regularity, and timing:
Quality: Spending sufficient time in each stage of sleep.
Quantity: Duration of sleep per night.
Regularity: Maintaining a consistent bed and waking time.
Timing: Lining up sleep patterns with your body’s circadian rhythm.
Optimizing all four components gives an individual the best chance at a good night’s rest.
Sign of the Times
As the sleep economy grows—set to reach nearly $1T by 2032—the over-complication of sleep may be a sign of the times.
According to Virginia Tech Professor of History Roger Ekirch—author of At Day’s Close: A History of Nighttime—sleeping through the night in its entirety is a fairly recent phenomenon. His research of preindustrial sleeping patterns reveals that our ancestors slept in segments: a first sleep, a break for eating, praying, and meditating, and then a second sleep.
That break between first and second sleep, however, has dwindled over time, now reduced to the occasional midnight snack or bathroom run. Ekirch believes this shift to be the result of artificial light and the Industrial Revolution—marked by a capitalist belief that sleep is a waste of time.
In Wild Nights: How Taming Sleep Created Our Restless World, Emory University Professor of English Benjamin Reiss argues that for most of human history, sleep was a social activity. Reiss describes today’s “8-hour sleep in solitude” as a societal norm—not a biological one—driven by the demands of modern life.
Unrest
Though we aren’t short on sleep solutions, our problems have persisted for a decade (and counting) since the CDC first declared sleep deprivation a public health epidemic in 2014.
The challenge remains that when it comes to sleep—and healthcare as a whole for that matter—there isn’t a level playing field. Income inequalities, irregular shift work, housing conditions, and numerous other social determinants of health are complicit in preventing millions around the world from getting some quality shut-eye.
P.S. After some (much-needed) time away, I’m excited to get back to building Healthy Returns! What started as a senior year passion project has grown into such a powerful community of health innovation, and I can’t wait to get back to producing new content each week.
P.P.S. I’ll be in Boston for the summer and looking to record some Healthy Returns podcasts in person! Drop some change-makers in healthcare in the comments that I should have on for an episode:)
What I’m reading this month:
Venture Capital’s Priorities Are Evolving As Behavioral Health Market Matures, Behavioral Health Business.
Hims & Hers Health to Offer Injectable Weight-Loss Drugs on Telehealth Platform, WSJ.
Tech-Driven Healthcare: Paving the Way for Scalable Solutions, MedCity News.
America’s IVF Failure, The Atlantic.
FDA qualifies Apple Watch’s AFib history for use in clinical studies, The Verge.
Transcarent, Glen Tullman’s health tech unicorn, raises $126 million, STAT.