Lena Saleh, a designer who recently graduated from Central Saint Martins, finished with a final project that focuses on sleep for her Material Futures course.
As today's society is largely dominated by technology, many people's sleep patterns have been negatively affected, due to a lack of structure before they attempt to rest, as well as a tendency to keep scrolling through their phones once they're actually in bed. Lena Saleh described her inspiration for her project by saying, "I wondered how I could recreate this ritual of 'winding down' to promote our sleep hygiene and habits."
In order to do so, she researched historical examples of sleep rituals, including those found in ancient Egypt. Some of the artifacts that Lena Saleh recreated allow users to work on soothing breathing exercises, inhale relaxing scents, and more.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Sleep Optimization Kits
- Designers are creating kits that contain soothing breathing exercises, relaxing scents, and more, to promote sleep hygiene and habits.
- Pre-sleep Rituals
- People are rediscovering the importance of winding down for a better night's sleep, leading to an increase in pre-sleep rituals.
- Technology-free Bedtime
- As technology negatively impacts sleep patterns, a trend has emerged around disconnecting before bed and implementing a technology-free bedtime routine.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Wellness
- The wellness industry can benefit from incorporating sleep optimization kits into their product lines.
- Home Goods
- The home goods industry can incorporate the concept of pre-sleep rituals into their products by designing items specifically for a technology-free bedtime routine.
- Design
- Design professionals can innovate on sleep optimization kits by incorporating new elements and techniques, such as biometric sensing or color therapy.
