Artificial intelligence is now present in almost every aspect of our lives, including sleep, and while the effects of AI's ever-present presence are controversial in some quarters, those involved in sleep technology are looking at its effective use

One such person is Alexandra Zatarain, co-founder and VP of brand and marketing at Eight Sleep, one of the world's best mattress brands in sleep tracking and sleep optimization Zatarain (who was named one of Forbes' 30 under 30 in 2017) is a passionate advocate of using AI to improve sleep quality

In honor of World Sleep Day, this year's Sleep Awareness Week 2024, we sat down with Zatarain to discuss her sleep schedule, what not to do to get good sleep, and why AI is definitely the future of sleep

"When he started looking into ways to optimize sleep, he realized there really wasn't much technology focused on improving sleep So he worked with another co-founder, Max Bassi, to prototype that technology and asked me to sell it" [That led to a personal interest in investing many years of my life in the idea of what technology can actually do for sleep and during sleep When he explained what could be done through sensors, AI, machine learning, and environmental triggers, I was super excited about it" [But] it also takes into account the environment, the temperature of the area you live in, the temperature of the room, the changes you've made to it over time, the feedback you've given it, your sleep phase the night before, etc" In other words, we're already seeing the power of what machine learning can do to understand the individual and create the perfect sleep environment for that person"

[In general, when we talk about mattresses and AI, I think the beauty of a mattress is that it is a huge surface that offers the user the opportunity to place many different sensors that can give you a lot of interesting information about yourself That information can be useful from day one, but it can also be useful as it is recorded over time"

[It's not just about improving sleep, as we are doing now, but about turning the entire mattress or bed into a preventative health device" [That's because it means taking in a lot of information to know when stress levels are changing and when certain conditions are developing in the body With these health sensors on the huge surface of your bed, you can learn more about your health, not just your sleep" [19] [20] "The second interesting point about the combination of mattresses as a surface and AI is the high retention rate People get a bed and continue to use it for five or eight years So you can use the bed over a long period of time and track everything related to sleep and health So you can do longitudinal analysis"

"Yes, it is important to use technology well, but it also requires effort on your part Technology may easily solve some of the problems you may encounter when trying to sleep, but it does not mean that technology alone will suddenly help you sleep better

"We are very complex as human beings So technology, at least currently, is not designed to handle that complexity But at this point, we need to make use of technology, but also make an effort

"My workday routine is simple: try not to work on the computer past 7:30 pm and have a digestive dinner I don't drink alcohol If I'm really tired or need a little boost (to relax) due to jet lag, I might take some melatonin

"The most important thing is to have a good sleeping environment I sleep in a cool, dark, quiet environment The temperature in my bedroom is around 23°C I wear light pajamas and sleep without socks

"Of course, I sleep on the Eight Sleep Pod So I warm the pod and then cool the room I sleep with a light blanket and a light comforter, and I sleep with light shades on the windows I am very sensitive to light and noise (even white noise) and anything that might distract me I use pod technology to regulate the temperature throughout the night and seasonally"

"I wake up naturally without an alarm When I need an alarm, the Pod's vibrating alarm gently wakes me up"