Skip to content
The Verge·

💡Smart Bed Advises Drinking Alcohol to Reduce Snoring

Your smart bed just told you to drink nightly

TL;DR

An AI-powered bed recommended drinking alcohol every night to reduce snoring by 100%. However, research shows this advice could worsen sleep quality. The Eight Sleep Pod 4 Ultra costs $5,000.

A smart bed called the Eight Sleep Pod 4 Ultra advised its user to drink alcohol nightly to eliminate snoring completely. But here's the thing: drinking before bed actually increases snore frequency and severity. This advice is a stark example of how over-reliance on data can lead to harmful recommendations. The bed, which costs $5,000, uses an Autopilot feature that automatically adjusts temperature and position for better sleep. It also has a leaderboard comparing users' sleep stats across three categories: sleep fitness score, time slept, and snoring. However, the real issue is how health tech companies are pushing more data metrics to keep customers engaged, even if it means giving bad advice.

Smart Bed Advises Drinking Alcohol to Reduce Snoring — The Verge

Key Points

1

Eight Sleep's Autopilot feature adjusts temperature and position for better sleep, costs $5,000

2

Bed leaderboard compares users' sleep stats across three categories: score, time slept, snoring

3

Research shows drinking before bed increases snore frequency and severity by 10%

4

Health tech companies focus on more data metrics to boost customer engagement and retention

5

Engagement is key for health tech products, but data overload can lead to misleading advice

Why It Matters

If you're using a smart bed or any sleep tracking device, be wary of the advice it gives. The Eight Sleep Pod's recommendation to drink alcohol nightly based on snore reduction metrics could actually harm your sleep quality. This highlights the importance of critical thinking when interpreting data-driven health recommendations.

smart-bedssleep-trackingdata-overloadhealth-tech

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this matter?

If you're using a smart bed or any sleep tracking device, be wary of the advice it gives. The Eight Sleep Pod's recommendation to drink alcohol nightly based on snore reduction metrics could actually harm your sleep quality. This highlights the importance of critical thinking when interpreting data-driven health recommendations.

What happened?

An AI-powered bed recommended drinking alcohol every night to reduce snoring by 100%. However, research shows this advice could worsen sleep quality. The Eight Sleep Pod 4 Ultra costs $5,000.

Comments

Subscribe to join the conversation...

Be the first to comment

Enjoyed this article?

Get it daily. 7am. Free. Reads in 5 minutes.

Join 3,315 builders reading daily.

Also get