Comparing 3 sleep aids: light doesn’t help
8.4.2022
Translation: Eva Francis
Video: Stephanie Tresch
Getting enough sleep is important for my (and your) health. Falling asleep quickly is a great first step. This is exactly what so-called sleep aids promise. I’ve put three of them to the test.
«Research has proven that restful sleep is essential for our health,» writes Dr Daniel Brunner, specialist in sleep medicine and head of Hirslanden Centre for Sleep Medicine in Zurich. From my recent personal experience, I can confirm this. Last weekend, I got way too little sleep two nights in a row. The result? I felt exhausted and far from fit on Monday.
That’s no surprise. The average required sleep for a 40-year-old like myself is between seven and eight hours per night. And I feel like I need more and more sleep every year. To get enough rest, I need to make sure I go to bed between 10 and 11 p.m. – and fall asleep as quickly as possible. Especially the latter isn’t easy after a hectic day, too much reading netflixing, a late night beer or evening sports.
In such cases, so-called sleep aids promise to make me fall asleep quickly and easily. There are olfactory, visual and, above all, acoustic sleep aids. To find out if they work, I asked three manufacturers to send me a device. I tested each one for several nights.
The first two sleep aids work with sounds; the third one uses light to put me to sleep. Which one’s my favourite? Watch the video to find out. For English subtitles, click the gear icon, «Subtitles/CC» and «Auto-translate». I’m not giving away too much if I tell you that I'm guaranteed not to fall asleep with a light like this one next to my head....
Oliver Fischer
Teamleader Editorial
Oliver.Fischer@digitecgalaxus.chGlobetrotter, hiker, wok world champion (not in the ice channel), word acrobat and photo enthusiast.
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