Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Inside the $70 billion industry designed to help you sleep

Including weighted blankets, hoodie pillows, and sleep trackers for your finger
This article, Inside the $70 billion industry designed to help you sleep, originally appeared on CBSNews.com

Over the past few years, humans have been waking up to the fact that to our well-being and productivity. The resulting has created a $70 billion industry, full of products aimed at helping you.

Elizabeth Segran has taken full advantage of the burgeoning industry, filling her bedroom with a variety of gadgets that help her get the 8 ½ hours of sleep she said she desperately needs each night to function. "Sleep is hard," she said.

Segran, who reports on the sleep industry for Fast Company magazine, said that "we've begun to realize that enough sleep is key to being optimal, to being productive."

"It's your health. It's your weight. It's your productivity at work, all of those things," said "CBS This Morning: Saturday" co-host Dana Jacobson.

"So you get a little test kit they give you, and they give what're called little flights," Segran explained. "And then you try it out and then you see what works for you before you order the amount that you need."

Once she's asleep, a sleep tracker under her mattress tells her the length and quality of her slumber. "And then it also offers you advice," Segran said. "So it coaches you."

The company Sleep Number started embedding sleep trackers in all of their mattresses, calculating what it calls your "SleepIQ." The company's beds also adjust firmness throughout the night and even offer a layer that fits under your sheets that controls the temperature of the bed. Dr. Thanuja Hamilton said sleep is priceless – but that getting it doesn't have to be expensive. "I suggest setting an alarm at night, about half an hour before bed," she said. "That's when that trigger goes off, you start winding down. If you want to meditate, if you want to write a little bit, set that ritual for bedtime and don't be late to bed."

Alex Tew and Michael Acton Smith started their company, "Calm," as a meditation app. But it quickly evolved into something more.

"About 2 ½ years ago … we noticed there was a big spike every night, just before 11:00 p.m., all around the world, of people who were listening to the meditations to help them fall asleep," said Acton Smith.

Their high-tech solution? Bedtime stories. "We thought, 'What if we could create bedtime tales that were designed to help people drift off to sleep?' And we used to love, when we were kids, to have stories read to us," Acton Smith said. There are now 144 stories available in the calm app, including tennis legend John McEnroe reading "The Rules of Tennis."

"Wonder," narrated by Matthew McConaughey, has been listened to 4.3 million times. Tew said he and his wife have listened to astronaut Terry Virts' story around 500 times. "It still works because it's almost become a signal to us," he said. "As soon as it comes on, it's time to sleep." Calm has broadened its reach to include physical products, too, including a partnership with weighted blanket company Gravity and a branded mist pillow spray with essential oils.

Tew and Acton Smith test out a weighted blanket and essential oil spray on Dana Jacobson CBS News

With so many products, it's easy to get wrapped up in the excitement. But as someone who's tested all of these products, Elizabeth Segran offered a tip for overwhelmed buyers. "I think it's really important to diagnose why you're not sleeping," she said. "So is it that you're extremely anxious? If so, then you need to think about the things that you can do to relieve that anxiety … if the problem is that, you know, you're sleeping hot … perhaps what you need is bed sheets that are climate-specific"

But unfortunately, there's one problem brands haven't figured out: adding more hours in the day.

"I think [that's] one thing that the companies can't really help us with," Segran said with a laugh.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×