4 Sleep Trends That Could Help You Feel More Rested in 2024, from Sunrise Alarm Clocks to Smart Beds

What if your bed could lull you to sleep with a full-body massage and guided meditations? Spoiler alert: It can, as smart beds are gaining more and more traction in the sleep world. A smart bed, also known as a connected bed or an intelligent bed, is a mattress that incorporates advanced technology to enhance the sleep experience. Senior editor Dana Dickey recently had the chance to sleep on the Bryte Balance Smart Bed, which features sensors that ease pressure as sleepers move during sleep, app-enabled ability to adjust bed to preferred softness, full-body massage settings timed to relax you before sleep, nightly sleep score reports and more high-tech features aimed at promoting sleep health. The only rub? These things are pricey. As in, a queen-sized smart bed from Bryte will set you back a cool $6300. Luckily, though, they’re available at hotels around the world so you can try them out while waiting for more brands to enter the market and hopefully drive prices to a more affordable level.

Remember the cute little plug-in that illuminated your room as a kid so the monsters would stay away? (Ours was Barbie, of course.) The grown-up, 2024 version of nightlights are sunrise alarm clocks—like the Hatch Sleep Restore 2—which gradually fill your room with light to potentially help combat insomnia and make waking up easier. Last year, David Neubauer, a sleep expert and associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, told The Washington Post that unlike traditional alarms that typically jolt people awake with a burst of loud, disorienting noise, sunrise alarm clocks (sometimes called dawn simulators) can “enhance the wake-up experience.” Now all that's left to do is choose your adult bedtime story.

Sleep tourism has been picking up steam over the last couple of years, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, a recent report by Hilton found that, in 2024, the hotel brand expects to see an increased focus on achieving a good night’s sleep while on the road, as travelers look to engage with products and brands aligned with this better-for-you imperative. Sleep tourism refers to travel experiences that are specifically designed to improve your quality of sleep. Think: pillow menus to ensure you have the most comfortable night based on your favored sleep position, rooms specifically designed to block out all outside noise so you can focus on rest and recorded sleep meditations available to listen to as you doze off. So where can you try it yourself? A few of our favorites are Mountain Shadows Resort in Scottsdale, AZ, where guests can add the Moon & Stars Sleep Package to their stay, which includes a silk sleep mask, sleep journal, pillow spray and more, and New York City’s Equinox Hotel, which has an Art of Science + Sleep package that’s designed to optimize sleep, promote recovery and nurture overall well-being via spa treatments and other in-room offerings.

The past few years have seen a shift in attitudes toward alcohol. Studies like this one from The National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC), signal that millennials and gen z’ers are most interested in reexamining their relationships with alcohol. According to the NPHIC, “Both [of these] generations have embraced sobriety over alcohol consumption. They have forced the alcohol industry to revamp how and what they market and sell. There’s been a significant shift in what bars serve, even establishing all dry venues.”  So now that we’ve seen folks cutting alcohol out of their lives in the pursuit of wellness, it seems only natural that caffeine could be next. The more coffee, the more insomnia—it’s as simple as that. According Michelle Worley, a registered nurse and Director of Clinical Operations at Aeroflow Healthcare, “Since many people consume caffeine for the jolt of energy it provides, which is made possible by blocking the brain’s sleep-inducing chemicals, it should come as no surprise that it can make it more difficult for people to sleep.” Expect to see more and more people ditching their daily cup of joe for the sake of their sleep hygiene. But that said, even if you can’t bear to give up the java, stick firmly to a 2 p.m. caffeine cut-off to avoid any tossing and turning at night.