Rise and Shine With An LED Eye Mask

Getting enough sleep is essential to functioning well during the day.

Too little sleepy can leave you grumpy, irritable and generally make getting through a day that much harder. Some clever designers have found ways that LED light bulbs can be used to help you wake up naturally and comfortably in the morning. There is even one which allows you to control your dreams! Helping you to make the most of your sleep.

LUMI Sleep Mask

This mask is worn whilst you sleep and it blocks out the light, allowing you to enjoy an undisturbed sleep, then when it is time to wake up it gradually illuminates replicating day break. It allows you to wake in the most natural way possible letting you wake up comfortably and refreshed. Designer Mr Hide from Birmingham Alabama originally created the mask to allow for a deep sleep without being interrupted by street lighting. He then considered the possibility of sleeping without light interruption, but the ability to still be woken by daylight. This is how the LUMI mask came to exist. LED lights built into the mask gradually illuminate over time to replicate sunrise, then a alarm beeps to ensure the user is awake. It is anticipated the mask will be used mainly by shift workers who need to sleep at unusual times. This mask allows the user to trick the body into believing it is day and night, as and when required.

Remee

The Remee mask is like something straight from the Hollywood film ‘Inception’. Developers Duncan Frazier and Steve McGuigan created the mask from their company Bitbanger Labs and raised funds for development using online funding website KickStarter. The mask allows you to take control of your dreams, it does this by making the brain aware that it is sleeping and that it is a dream. The device features 6 red LED lights, they are faint so won’t wake the user up but are bright enough that the brain can register them. They flash in a sequence designed by the user to be recognizable. The flashing starts when the brain is at a REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep, which is where most dreaming occurs. The idea is that whilst dreaming, you see the red LED lights in the distance, this allows you to realise you are in a dream and therefore take control of what you do in it. It is said that the mask doesn’t always work and wont always allow you to take control of your dreams, but some of the time it will work and the results can be fantastic.

Who knew LED light bulbs could have so many uses beyond just lighting your home. Their small size and quality of light can lead to many uses. Technology is rapidly growing and who knows what else we will be able to do using LED technology in the future.