There are never enough hours in a day, our over-connected culture often says. But connected devices worn nightly do not aim to lengthen our days with more tasks; instead, they help us optimize the hours we do sleep, and thus improve the quality of our working and playing hours. For some, better sleep is achieved through lucid dreaming, or being aware that you are dreaming, an experience said to lower stress and improve performance at tasks you “practice” in dreams.
Andrew Smiley was sitting inside a huge, ornate dining hall when he began to notice the lights pulsing overhead. That’s weird, he thought. He stood up to get a better look, drawing the eyes of those around him. Suddenly, he knew what was happening, and what to do next: he bolted, diving through a porthole and straight off the side of a cruise ship. Then he woke up, with a device strapped to his forehead.