Casper, the company that reinvented how we buy mattresses, now wants to transform our sleep habits with Casper Glow—a new connected bedtime light. The small, cord-free lamp is designed to address a common culprit that can get in the way of a good night’s rest: light.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, a pleasant environment is the key to good sleep, and bright light from lamps, cell phones, and TV screens makes it difficult to fall asleep. Conversely, the right light can help you drift into slumber.

What’s the right light? It all comes down to your circadian rhythm—the internal clock that tells you when to be asleep and when to wake up. Opening your eyes can trigger the hormone melatonin that regulates that rhythm, so staring at bright lights at bedtime could cause you to start waking up.

Casper designed the Glow light to sync with your circadian rhythm, producing warm, comfortable light at night time that gradually diminishes as you fall asleep. In the morning, it produces brighter, more wakeful light that gradually increases to get you out of bed gently.

Philips Hue has an extensive line of bulbs and lamps that can do this too, but an interesting aspect of Glow is that it doesn’t depend on a smartphone app or schedule. Instead it works with gestures: Flip the light over to turn it on and trigger a 45-minute wind down time, twist it to adjust the brightness, or wiggle it to produce a dim downlight.

One challenge for companies seeking to introduce sleep tech is that for many people, the bedroom is the last place they want those gadgets. Reaching for a smartphone to turn on the lights is a non-starter, and those ubiquitous LED power buttons on many electronic devices don’t belong in an “optimal sleep environment.”

Casper is touting its new light as “invisible tech” specifically created to help us achieve a better, deeper sleep. In 2017, the company launched Casper Labs, which employs 50 researchers, scientists, and engineers to explore sleep research and investigate the science of how light gets in the way of a good night’s rest.

Powered by a 2,700 kelvin LED light, Glow will fade over 45 minutes at bedtime (adjustable) and then gradually brighten in the morning, using its ambient light sensor to determine how bright or dark a room is before tuning on. It can also be removed from its charging stand and carried around—like a cuddly flashlight—so you can walk to the bathroom safely without encountering any harsh, sleep-disrupting light.

As a design element in your bedroom, the lamp is a little chubby and will take up ample room on a nightstand. But its appearance at night is what counts, and if it does what it promises—provide a soothing, calming experience—it might be worth sacrificing that nightstand space for a better night's sleep.

Shop the Glow Light below:

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