Software professional Deepak Srivastav took his phone to bed last night. But the 35-year-old Noida resident did not watch Instagram reels or go through his Facebook feed. He tuned into an app, selected a story titled тАШEk Anokha KhatтАЩ (a unique letter), placed the phone on his bedside table and lay down. тАЬDheere se aankh band kar lijiye aur chaliye daakiya Sundar Lal ki duniya mein (Slowly close your eyes and accompany us to the world of postman Sundar Lal,тАЭ a deep, soothing male voice emerged from the phone.
But even before the tale of Sundar Lal had picked up, Srivastav had drifted off into dreamland. He woke up nine hours later feeling refreshed and revitalised. Having battled anxiety and panic attacks in the past, Srivastav used to struggle to fall asleep till he discovered the bedtime stories on Neend, an Indiansleep improvement app which was launched last year. тАЬNegative thoughts used to make it impossible to fall asleep so I started looking for solutions,тАЭ he says.
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Srivastav is among nearly five lakh individuals who have downloaded Neend since its launch in June 2021. Another 1. 8 crore have viewed their content via YouTube. The Bengaluru-based firm is among several Indian startups that have come up to provide tech-based solutions to sleep issues in recent years. Sleep by Wysa and Calm Sleep are two other apps that are tucking users into bed. WysaтАЩs sleep app, which was launched in October 2019 and declaredGoogle Play storeтАЩs Best App of 2020, has been downloaded by more than 3. 4 lakh individuals while Calm Sleep has been downloaded by 15 lakh people worldwide, including two lakh Indians, since its launch two years ago. These sleep apps provide bedtime stories, тАШsoothing sound tracksтАЩ тАФ ranging from the pitter-patter of rain to coffee shop buzz тАФ and guided meditation to lull users to sleep.
Sleep, which was once simply a banal part of oneтАЩs daily routine, has emerged as a critical concern globally тАФ even a holy grail for some тАФ with rising stress levels, screen use and other lifestyle habits leading to deprivation. Not surprisingly sleep fixes have been flooding the market тАФ the global sleep aids market size is projected to grow from $74 billion in 2021 to $125 billion by 2030, according to Precedence Research. In India too, a quality snooze has become a top priority as city-slickers have been struggling to sleep, especially since the pandemic wreaked havoc on their circadian rhythms.
While mattress companies have been positioning their products as sleep solutions and hotels have been offering pillow menus and тАШgood night lattesтАЩ for a decade now, the use of technology as a sleep aid is fairly new. тАЬThere is already a huge market for meditation in India. Now, sleep as a standalone market is picking up at a fast pace as people, especially executives, have started valuing a good nightтАЩs rest,тАЭ says Calm Sleep founder Akshay Pruthi, adding that he started the app as a side hustle but switched to managing it full time as the demand grew. The Gurugram residentтАЩs own quest for deep slumber тАФ he is an extremely light sleeper тАФ inspired the business idea.
Neend was launched by IIT Bombay alumnus Surbhi Jain who struggled with months of sleeplessness after a bout of Covid-19. тАЬOne night I happened to fall asleep while listening to an audio story and on another day my husband started snoring while I was telling him about my travel experience. I was furious at that moment but this prompted me to research on sleep stories,тАЭ says the 31-year-old. Neend provides sleep stories in five languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and English and caters to mostly Indians. Sleep by Wysa and Calm Sleep offer English stories and find more takers in western countries. тАЬWysa will soon introduce Hindi stories too,тАЭ says Harsh Gupta, COO of Touchkin eServices which runs the Wysa app. Gupta points out that nearly a third of users talk to WysaтАЩs chatbot about sleep-related issues. Touchkin has tied up with New Yorkbased meditation artist Michelle Hotling who specialises in making listeners fall asleep with her tales. Calm Sleep and Neend employ in-house and freelance writers and voice-over artists who create stories that are interesting and тАШdullтАЩ at the same time. тАЬWe donтАЩt want the plot to be too exciting or people may start binge hearing and that will defeat the purpose,тАЭ laughs Pruthi. Jain says the majority of listeners donтАЩt go beyond half the story which is approximately 10 to 15 minutes. тАЭ She adds that 92% of their users have given positive feedback. Neend also offers a sleep timer so that the app can automatically shut down.
MUSIC TO WIND DOWN
Founders of sleep apps say that while 60 to 70% of their users listen to sleep stories, some prefer sleep music or meditation. Mechanical engineer Debangshu Ghosh uses Calm SleepтАЩs track with the sound of waves to help him switch off from his new job. тАЬI was tasked with heading a team. It was so stressful that I would often lie awake till 3 or 4am. I would then wake up late the next morning which meant that I had to skip breakfast to report to work on time. All this took a toll on my health,тАЭ says Ghosh, adding that he preferred non-medicine-based solutions as he had seen a friend become dependent on sleeping pills.
Sleep-conscious millennials are also using sleep tracking apps. Content writer Aashna Mathur downloaded one as she was experiencing nightmares. She now knows exactly how many hours she was in deep sleep and how many times she was semiawake due to bad dreams. тАЬIf I talk in my sleep, that too gets recorded so I can understand what is bothering me at a subconscious level,тАЭ says the 25-year-old, adding that the app also calculates her sleep deficit.
Considering overuse of screens is considered among the chief reasons for disturbed sleep, isnтАЩt it ironic that people are turning to technology for a solution? Pruthi does not think so. тАЬIt is not practical to expect people to keep gadgets in a different room while sleeping. That is enforcing something which is unnatural for this generation,тАЭ he says, тАЬI think it is great that we are now using technology in a positive manner to enforce healthy habits. тАЭ Calm Sleep hopes to foray into hardware sleep solutions too тАФ they will introduce a тАШdigital mattress coverтАЩ which will assess the sleep of the person lying on it. The mattress will be connected to the mobile and the data will be collated on the app.
But even before the tale of Sundar Lal had picked up, Srivastav had drifted off into dreamland. He woke up nine hours later feeling refreshed and revitalised. Having battled anxiety and panic attacks in the past, Srivastav used to struggle to fall asleep till he discovered the bedtime stories on Neend, an Indiansleep improvement app which was launched last year. тАЬNegative thoughts used to make it impossible to fall asleep so I started looking for solutions,тАЭ he says.
PILLOW TALK
Srivastav is among nearly five lakh individuals who have downloaded Neend since its launch in June 2021. Another 1. 8 crore have viewed their content via YouTube. The Bengaluru-based firm is among several Indian startups that have come up to provide tech-based solutions to sleep issues in recent years. Sleep by Wysa and Calm Sleep are two other apps that are tucking users into bed. WysaтАЩs sleep app, which was launched in October 2019 and declaredGoogle Play storeтАЩs Best App of 2020, has been downloaded by more than 3. 4 lakh individuals while Calm Sleep has been downloaded by 15 lakh people worldwide, including two lakh Indians, since its launch two years ago. These sleep apps provide bedtime stories, тАШsoothing sound tracksтАЩ тАФ ranging from the pitter-patter of rain to coffee shop buzz тАФ and guided meditation to lull users to sleep.
Sleep, which was once simply a banal part of oneтАЩs daily routine, has emerged as a critical concern globally тАФ even a holy grail for some тАФ with rising stress levels, screen use and other lifestyle habits leading to deprivation. Not surprisingly sleep fixes have been flooding the market тАФ the global sleep aids market size is projected to grow from $74 billion in 2021 to $125 billion by 2030, according to Precedence Research. In India too, a quality snooze has become a top priority as city-slickers have been struggling to sleep, especially since the pandemic wreaked havoc on their circadian rhythms.
While mattress companies have been positioning their products as sleep solutions and hotels have been offering pillow menus and тАШgood night lattesтАЩ for a decade now, the use of technology as a sleep aid is fairly new. тАЬThere is already a huge market for meditation in India. Now, sleep as a standalone market is picking up at a fast pace as people, especially executives, have started valuing a good nightтАЩs rest,тАЭ says Calm Sleep founder Akshay Pruthi, adding that he started the app as a side hustle but switched to managing it full time as the demand grew. The Gurugram residentтАЩs own quest for deep slumber тАФ he is an extremely light sleeper тАФ inspired the business idea.
Neend was launched by IIT Bombay alumnus Surbhi Jain who struggled with months of sleeplessness after a bout of Covid-19. тАЬOne night I happened to fall asleep while listening to an audio story and on another day my husband started snoring while I was telling him about my travel experience. I was furious at that moment but this prompted me to research on sleep stories,тАЭ says the 31-year-old. Neend provides sleep stories in five languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and English and caters to mostly Indians. Sleep by Wysa and Calm Sleep offer English stories and find more takers in western countries. тАЬWysa will soon introduce Hindi stories too,тАЭ says Harsh Gupta, COO of Touchkin eServices which runs the Wysa app. Gupta points out that nearly a third of users talk to WysaтАЩs chatbot about sleep-related issues. Touchkin has tied up with New Yorkbased meditation artist Michelle Hotling who specialises in making listeners fall asleep with her tales. Calm Sleep and Neend employ in-house and freelance writers and voice-over artists who create stories that are interesting and тАШdullтАЩ at the same time. тАЬWe donтАЩt want the plot to be too exciting or people may start binge hearing and that will defeat the purpose,тАЭ laughs Pruthi. Jain says the majority of listeners donтАЩt go beyond half the story which is approximately 10 to 15 minutes. тАЭ She adds that 92% of their users have given positive feedback. Neend also offers a sleep timer so that the app can automatically shut down.
MUSIC TO WIND DOWN
Founders of sleep apps say that while 60 to 70% of their users listen to sleep stories, some prefer sleep music or meditation. Mechanical engineer Debangshu Ghosh uses Calm SleepтАЩs track with the sound of waves to help him switch off from his new job. тАЬI was tasked with heading a team. It was so stressful that I would often lie awake till 3 or 4am. I would then wake up late the next morning which meant that I had to skip breakfast to report to work on time. All this took a toll on my health,тАЭ says Ghosh, adding that he preferred non-medicine-based solutions as he had seen a friend become dependent on sleeping pills.
Sleep-conscious millennials are also using sleep tracking apps. Content writer Aashna Mathur downloaded one as she was experiencing nightmares. She now knows exactly how many hours she was in deep sleep and how many times she was semiawake due to bad dreams. тАЬIf I talk in my sleep, that too gets recorded so I can understand what is bothering me at a subconscious level,тАЭ says the 25-year-old, adding that the app also calculates her sleep deficit.
Considering overuse of screens is considered among the chief reasons for disturbed sleep, isnтАЩt it ironic that people are turning to technology for a solution? Pruthi does not think so. тАЬIt is not practical to expect people to keep gadgets in a different room while sleeping. That is enforcing something which is unnatural for this generation,тАЭ he says, тАЬI think it is great that we are now using technology in a positive manner to enforce healthy habits. тАЭ Calm Sleep hopes to foray into hardware sleep solutions too тАФ they will introduce a тАШdigital mattress coverтАЩ which will assess the sleep of the person lying on it. The mattress will be connected to the mobile and the data will be collated on the app.
