A good night's sleep is important for your health and happiness. But how do you get the deep, quality rest you deserve? A good place to start: smart bedroom gadgets.
At Asurion, we not only fix and protect your tech, we help you get the most out of your smart home devices, whether you want to save money and electricity or learn why you should switch to smart lights.
Here's how to make a smart bedroom you'll love.
Boost your home's brain power with a smart home hub
Every smart bedroom begins with a hub. This device is the brain of the operation. It connects to and communicates with all your gadgets over Wi-Fi.
Many hubs come with a virtual assistant that allows you to control the devices in your home—including your bedroom—with simple voice commands. Amazon® uses Alexa™, Google® has Google Assistant™, and Apple® uses Siri®.
Wondering which one to choose? Check out our guide to Google Home Hub vs. Amazon Echo®.
Just remember, not all smart home gadgets work well together—So make sure any new device is compatible with your system before throwing it in your shopping cart.
Make your dumb appliances smarter with a smart plug
One of the best smart bedroom ideas is to automate your wired devices with smart plugs.
To set one up, just plug it into an outlet and then connect it to your Wi-Fi network by following the directions in an app on your phone or tablet. Next, plug a wired appliance, like a bedside lamp or fan, into your smart plug, and now you can control it on your phone—or via voice command if you have a hub—from wherever you are.
Popular options include the Wemo™ Smart Plug, the Kasa Smart™ Plug, and the Amazon Smart Plug.
How smart is your home?
Calculate your smart devices, bust common myths, and explore tips from your neighborhood tech experts.
Dream on with smart lights
Before you can get your z's, you'll want to set up smart lighting in your bedroom. Start with smart bulbs like Philips® Hue™ or a Wyze™ Bulb, which come with an app you can use to create a lighting schedule. Set a time to dim your lights (or use a color-changing bulb and set it to switch to soothing amber) just before bedtime and turn off your lights when you want to go to sleep.
You can also set your lights to turn on when it's time to wake up in the morning. (The Hue app has a built-in wakeup routine with a sunrise feature). You won't even have to get out of bed. Dreamy, right?
Get smart about sleep with automated window shades
With apologies to the moon, any light coming in through your window can keep you up at night. And nothing interrupts your dreams like having to get up and close the blinds or curtains when you're falling asleep. Consider installing blackout shades, like Ikea® Fyrtur Shades or Lutron® Serena Smart Shades, that you can lower at night and open in the morning using an app or with a command to your voice assistant. You can also set a timer to lower and raise your shades automatically.
Rest up and rise in a smart bed
Does someone in your bedroom snore? If they do, you might be sleep-deprived and grouchy. Enter smart beds like the TEMPUR®-Ergo Smart Base and the Beautyrest Black® Luxury Motion Power Base which can sense snoring (motion sensors detect vibrations) and automatically raise your partner's head 12 degrees to a position where they'll likely stop.
On both these models, you can use the mobile app or a voice command to change the position of your mattress, adjust the temperature, or even get a mattress massage. You can also set up sleep-tracking to see how well you slept overnight. The sensors on your bed will record your movements, your heart rate, and other data and send a report to your mobile device.
If your bed doesn't have sleep-tracking, check out our guide to tracking sleep on your Apple Watch®.
Wake up wiser with a connected alarm
Sure, you can set an alarm on your smart watch or phone, but you may want to try a smart alarm clock with clever features like a voice-activated snooze function or soft-light alarm functions for the best shut-eye.
Sure, you can set a wakeup alarm on your smartwatch or mobile device, but you may want to try a smart alarm clock with clever features like a voice-activated snooze function or soft light alarm functions for the best shut-eye. Models like the Emerson® Radio SmartSet Alarm Clock Radio with Bluetooth Speaker automatically set itself to the correct time and date when you first plug it in (ditto following power outages). Or, try using a smart hub like your Amazon Echo Dot, which is a speaker, voice assistant, and alarm clock all in one. That way, you can ask Alexa to wake you up with your favorite playlist or the morning news.
Breathe in the scent of a great sleep with a smart diffuser
Did you know that certain scents—like lavender and rose—can help you relax? If you diffuse essential oils with these fragrances in your bedroom at night, it may help you fall asleep. Try a diffuser you can plug into an outlet and control using an app, like the Pura Smart Fragrance Diffuser, which comes with an ambient night light, or the Meross® Smart Wi-Fi Essential Oil Diffuser, which has two misting modes.
Unplug and sleep tight with your smart devices off
Once you're all set with the best smart bedroom accessories, the smartest thing you can do is put your mobile device away, or at least turn it over so the blue light on the screen doesn't keep you awake. You might consider putting it on a wireless charger out of reach, so you're not tempted. Once you've set automatic alarms, sounds, lighting, smells, and temperature, it's time to stop scrolling and give your mobile device—and yourself—a rest.
Make sure your smart home is protected
An Asurion Home+® protection plan provides coverage for nearly all the technology in your home with one simple plan. Laptops, tablets, TVs, gaming consoles, smart thermostats, and so much more—even future purchases. Plus, you'll get 24/7 live expert support and robust digital security. Learn more about Asurion Home+® coverage and how you can get peace-of-mind electronics protection.