Unraveling the Global Sleep Technology Startup Craze in 2023

Thursday, 20/07/2023 09:00 (GTM +7)

According to Wakefield Research, about 37% of young people in Vietnam suffer from insomnia and 73% experience stress due to sleep disorders. The figures also show that up to 79% of participants do not have time to rest daily, and each office worker spends an average of 10 days a year catching up on sleep.

Insomnia is an uncomfortable state that can have adverse effects not only on our physical health but also on our mental health. More and more statistics show that this problem is not only present in older people but has spread to the younger generation in Vietnam.

ITI Fund - Sleep tech - Mat ngu The fast-paced and stressful lifestyle has led to an increase in insomnia.

This alarming signal has prompted people to seek support solutions, creating opportunities for sleep technology (sleep tech) startups.

Explaining the reasons for “insomnia” in Vietnam and the world

According to experts, insomnia can be caused by several factors such as:

Internal factors:
- Sleep disorders: In the US, up to 70 million adults suffer from sleep disorders with over 100 million different symptoms, notably including symptoms such as sleep paralysis, sleep apnea, and short- and long-term insomnia.
- Stress and anxiety: This condition can directly cause insomnia and vice versa. This leads to an endless cycle and worsens everything if not resolved properly. According to statistics, up to 43% of people aged 13-64 suffer from insomnia due to stress at least once a month.
- Sleeping habits: Over 35% of adults wake up in the middle of the night at least 3 times a week, 50% prefer to sleep on their side while only 37.5% prefer to sleep on their back – the recommended sleeping position. From this, it can be seen that healthy sleeping habits and ensuring consistent rest are necessary conditions for better sleep.

External factors:
- Surrounding environment: sound, light, and air humidity,… are, all affect sleep quality. Snoring appears in 44% of men and 28% of women aged 30 – 60 (according to VinMec), which is also a complex problem.

ITI Fund - Sleep tech - Ngay ngu Snoring is also a complex problem

- Bedroom equipment: devices such as beds, and pillows,… will also affect sleep quality, such as hygiene level, comfort level, and sleeping position.

The potential of the sleep technology market

Determining the scale and demand is essential when a startup ventures into a new field. According to calculations, the global sleep technology market exceeded $12.5 billion in 2020 and is predicted to reach $40.6 billion in 2027, with the main growth driver being the increasing rate of sleep disorders, technological advancements, and users’ awareness of sleep support devices in the context of ageing populations worldwide. North America is currently the region with the highest revenue share at 43% in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.5% until 2030.

Regarding gender, women are considered a particular group that prefers sleep support technology devices because they are more likely to experience insomnia due to hormonal changes.

In terms of products, wearable devices occupy the largest market share and are expected to grow by 17% compared to 14% for noise-cancelling devices and 5% for smart beds. The perception of convenience, portability, and affordability also contributes to strong growth in this segment.

ITI Fund - Sleep tech - App Mobile sleep applications are famous worldwide due to their convenience (Image source: Sleep Foundation)

However, mobile applications are now leading the way in terms of scale and growth rate. Sensor Tower estimates that global user spending will reach $270 billion by 2025 and grow 19.5% annually. Mobile healthcare applications will exceed one billion installations worldwide in 2021, an astonishing increase compared to about 730 million before the pandemic in 2019.

How do sleep tech startups solve this problem?

Some sleep tech startups have been born to address these issues and opportunities:

Sleep tracking devices

This is a solution that helps collect data on user behavior to understand and overcome sleep obstacles, with various forms such as wristbands, smartwatches, eye masks, rings, etc.

This technology has quickly been accepted by consumers in recent years. Research shows that currently, one-third of Americans use smartwatches to track their sleep quality.

Some prominent solutions in this field include:

Fitbit Charge 4: a sleep tracking device that integrates heart rate and blood oxygen sensors to help users better understand their sleeping habits.
Sleepon Go2Sleep Smart Ring: a wristband that helps track physical indicators during rest and exercise, thereby proposing optimal sleep times and other instructions for users.

ITI Fund - Sleep tech - Go2Sleep Sleepon Go2Sleep Smart Ring

Smart beds

In addition to comfort, smart beds are equipped with biological signal monitoring sensors to collect data on users’ heart rate, breathing, body temperature and movement while sleeping to determine the appropriate style.

Some high-end smart beds also allow monitoring of the surrounding environment, such as temperature and light in the room. From there, they can adjust the temperature and elasticity of the mattress to improve sleep quality.

One example is Ghost SmartBed 3D Matrix – a smart bed device that can adjust the elasticity according to the appropriate posture, with cooling technology used to create optimal temperature for sleep.

ITI Fund - Sleep tech - Ghost Smart Bed Ghost SmartBed 3D Matrix

Noise control technology

If there is a lot of noise in the surrounding environment, sleep quality is also significantly affected. Noise control technology (ANC) solves this problem by reducing unwanted sound waves through noise cancellation (NC) or active noise reduction (ANR), suitable for the sound of running cars or engines.

In addition, good filtering masks are also a worthwhile option to eliminate sudden noises such as loud voices, barking dogs and snoring. This technology will replace those unwanted noises with other sounds.

For example, Bose Sleepbuds II provides a solution to block harsh noise frequencies and replaces them with sleep-friendly sounds, such as ocean waves from a connected phone app.

ITI Fund - Sleep tech - Bose Bose Sleepbuds II

Another popular solution for noise control is a pleasant sound generator that helps users sleep well, such as white, pink, and brown noise or simulated natural sounds, such as waterfall sounds, rain and wind,…

Mobile Apps to improve sleep

As mentioned above, this is the fastest-growing and largest-scale field in the sleep technology industry. Many startups have emerged and brought helpful solutions, including:

Calm – A meditation app that provides mindfulness exercises, sounds and lullabies.
Book Morning! – A sleep habit app designed by Fourdesire, a famous healthcare app developer from Taiwan.
Plant Nanny2 – A solution that encourages people to develop a habit of drinking water, which was honoured by Google Play as the Best App of 2019.
Walker – A step counter app that encourages users to walk more during the day and has received the Best Game Award from Apple App Store.

ITI Fund - Sleep tech - Book Morning app Book Morning! – A popular sleep habit improvement app (Image source: Film Daily)

These are just a few of many new solutions in the sleep technology market, and they represent some attractive opportunities for technology companies in the years to come.

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Insomnia not only harms the health of individuals but also causes disadvantages for the national economy because labour productivity decreases due to poor physical and mental health. Therefore, the sleep technology industry is evaluated as having development opportunities and being very necessary.