Thursday, April 27, 2017

Sleepless Night

Had nightmares that someone was watching:

"The Restless Quest for a Good Night’s Sleep" by Constance Gustke New York Times   December 29, 2016

NEW YORK — Insomnia and other temporary and recurring sleep disorders affect 50 million to 70 million Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health, and the effects only worsen as people grow older. Technology, while still nascent, is an alternative for those who do not want to take sleeping pills, which can be highly addictive.

Like many other tech devices that monitor every twitch and turn of the human body, sleep-tracking device Sense uses sensors to collect reams of data. The information is then uploaded to a smartphone app that analyzes sleep cycles. An accelerometer about the size of a quarter attaches to a pillow and tracks tosses and turns. And a bedside hub, shaped like a ball, tracks sounds, light, and temperature in a room. It glows green when sleep conditions are optimal.

“You can fall into bed drunk and it still works,” said James Proud, a self-taught programmer.

Sleep technology products range from the basic app to the esoteric. The Sleep Shepherd headband, invented by a professor whose daughter had a sleep disorder, monitors brain waves while the wearer sleeps. Noise-canceling headphones pipe in sound. Other devices also emit light, some mimicking sunsets. They join hundreds of downloadable apps, including Sleep Cycle and SleepBot, which track every sleep tic.

Meaning the government and telecoms can virtually be in the bed with you like a succubus.

All are trying to solve an age-old problem with new technologies that experts say are still mostly unproven.

“Most of these apps and wearables don’t have good-quality research that shows they improve sleep,” said Dr. Neil Kline, a representative of the American Sleep Association and a sleep specialist. “It takes years to do good research. And a lot of these technologies just came out.” 

Like what is happening with the Fitbit

People just don't like being tracked and spied on, I gue$$.

Yet, experts agree that the market is huge and important. About half the US population will have insomnia on any given night, Kline said....

--more--"

They got their start via the via the Thiel Fellowship, a Kickstarter campaign raised about $2.4 million, and one of the business partners is Arianna Huffington. 

Related: 

Trump tries for positive tone at meeting with tech execs

Did you see who was there?

"Palantir Technologies Inc., a data-mining company cofounded by Peter Thiel, [is] a proven, state-of-the-art system originally developed with financial aid from the Central Intelligence Agency."

Good work if you can get it.

Palantir discriminates against Asians, Labor Department alleges

That's odd, seeing as Thiel is gay.

What Are You Gawking At? 

Just something I Sqrrled away.

Peter Thiel, Trump adviser, has a backup country: New Zealand

Maybe he can meet with the new U.S. ambassador.