Can’t Sleep? Seven Devices That Might Solve Your Coronasomnia

IT’S BEEN A MONTH since we sprang forward, but if you’re still slugging down extra coffee to cope, you’re not alone. Daylight savings is always hard on our bodies, said Dr. Nicole Avena, associate professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, but Covid-19 has made the shift more difficult than usual. Dr. Abhinav Singh, a physician at Indiana Sleep Center, says about 40% of people have experienced sleep problems, what he calls “coronosomnia,” during the pandemic. Working from home has disrupted our circadian cues for maintaining what Dr. Singh calls a healthy sleep-wake rhythm (think: irregular meal and exercise times, reduced sunlight exposure).

For those looking to get things back on track, several companies are offering products that promise to get you to sleep faster, stay asleep more consistently and wake up easier, improving overall sleep health. Seattle area surgery scheduler Genny Coleman, 46, who’s struggled with insomnia since contracting Covid-19 last summer, recently tried one such product on the urging of a friend with a newborn: the Hatch Restore. Released in May 2020, it doubles as a white-noise machine to help you sleep and a sunrise alarm clock to wake you up with gentle light and sound. “There are still some nights [I] may not sleep perfectly, but the Hatch definitely helps [me] to get better rest,” said Ms. Coleman. Other new sleep solutions range from wearable patches to breathable robots. We tested the following seven.

1. Casper Glow Light

Claim to Fame: This rechargeable LED light is designed to help you create a nightly routine. Once you’ve used the app to dial in some settings, it’s easy to use. When you’re ready for bed, flip the light over to turn it on. Depending on the “dimming time” you’ve selected, the light will slowly fade over a period between 15 and 90 minutes. The beacon serves as a helpful nudge, reminding you it’s time to put away your phone (and its sleep-compromising blue light) and wind down.

Test Results: This became a staple on my nightstand. I crawled into bed and read until the decrescendo alerted me it was time to close my eyes. This might not help much if you have serious insomnia, but for the mildly sleep-challenged, it’s enough.

Best For: Page-turners who stay up late and regret it in the morning. approx. $175, Casper.com

2. OneClock Analog Waking Clock

Claim to Fame: Using your phone as an alarm clock is a bad idea—picking it up before bed is certain to induce scrolling. This minimalist clock, introduced in 2021, will gently nudge you awake in the morning. Waking songs currently include exclusive compositions by Jon Natchez from rock band the War on Drugs. The company bets that you’ll appreciate waking up to these atmospheric, invigorating pieces more than some of the cacophonies your iPhone spews.

Test Results: The modern equivalent of waking up to soft AM radio: comforting, calming, familiar. It was nice to start my day with music without needing to grab my phone to find the right Spotify playlist. A fair warning: The device’s many buttons lack labels. That makes setup tricky, but ultimately, learnable. Just don’t skip the online FAQ.

Best For: Melophiles ready to break up with bedtime blue light for good. approx. $4o0, OneClock.co

3. Somnox 2 Sleep Robot

Claim to Fame: Dutch inventor Julian Jagtenberg began creating the Sleep Robot in 2015 with a team of other sleep-deprived engineers to help his mother overcome insomnia without medication. As you hold the 1.3kg rechargeable jelly bean to your chest, like a teddy bear, its soft in-and-out movement and sounds are designed to encourage deeper breathing.

Test Results: Cuddling a robot is weird, yet effective. It reminded me of holding a delicate baby, but more relaxing. Downloading its app enables nearly two dozen sounds (or you can stream your own audio through Bluetooth) and lets you set your own breathing program. When you’re awake, Somnox also works as the best stress ball ever: Just hold it in your lap at your desk. One downside: Given the price, it was disappointing that the washable cover pilled quickly.

Best For: Anxious adults who wish their bed was still covered in a menagerie of stuffed animals. approx. $807, Somnox.com

4. Wesper Sleep Kit

Claim to Fame: This system turns your bedroom into a sleep lab, providing granular data you can’t get from most wearables. After snoozing for at least three nights with its crescent-shaped patches stuck to your chest and stomach, you schedule an initial video consultation with a sleep specialist on the app. He or she analyzes your results to pinpoint problems like sleep apnea.

Test Results: While my report didn’t find any issues, it helped me tweak my schedule to complete full sleep cycles. Impressive results, given I’d never heard of “sleep cycles” before trying the Wesper.

Best For: Anyone with serious sleep challenges or biohackers. approx. $270 plus $13/month after first month, Wesper.co

5. Dodow Sleep Aid

Claim to Fame: Measuring a little over 3 inches in diameter, this flat, white puck uses a pulsating light to coach your breathing at night. Tap the top as you climb into bed, and the battery-operated device projects a blue circle onto your ceiling. You inhale when it expands and exhale when it retracts, a breathing technique that relies on a mind-body therapy called cardiac coherence to control heart rate variability and help you fall asleep faster.

Test Results: Promising, but many will find the Dodow a bit awkward to use. It’s difficult to see the blue light unless your room is pitch black. And since the light appears on the ceiling, it’s hard to see unless you sleep on your back. You trigger the device through a series of taps, but I had to reread the instructions a few times and practice just to get the right “touch.” That said, watching a pulsing light is so boring that it’s bound to make you drift off eventually.

Best For: Back sleepers who’ve tried everything else, $80, mydodow.com

6. Loftie Clock

Claim to Fame: Loftie believes its three-in-one digital alarm clock, white noise machine and nightlight will finally convince you to stop sleeping with your phone on your nightstand. You can use buttons on the Loftie to set alarms and launch breathwork, meditation and sound-bath sessions without pulling out your phone and saturating your eyes with blue light. Alarms are two-phased: a soft “wake-up” chime plays for 30 seconds until a slightly faster (and louder) “get-up” tune signals that, well, it’s time to get up.

Test Results: We were impressed with the sheer volume of content stuffed inside this small device. Its bedtime stories are oddly soothing, like the grown-up version of having parents tuck you in at night. We also liked the clock’s “Bed Signal,” which cues a lullaby and a nightlight at the same time every night.

Best For: Perpetual snooze-button hitters who need a schedule. approx. $200, ByLoftie.com

7. Flare Audio Sleep Pro

Claim to Fame: These sleek plugs have memory-foam ball tips (each set comes with two sizes), connected by a titanium stem, that are designed to mould to your ear canal. They’re intended to reduce all variety of sleep-precluding noises, from sirens to snoring, by an average of 32 decibels.

Test Results: At this price, the earbuds disappointed. They look great, but I found that the design was hard to wear for a whole night, especially when I slept on my side, since they stick out. They do a great job cancelling noise, but you might get similar performance in a more comfortable package from the sort of standard buds you could buy at a hardware store.

Best For: Back sleepers and frequent fliers. approx. $72, FlareAudio.com

The marketplace has spoken and, at least for now, it’s showing preference for hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) over battery electrics. That makes Toyota’s foot dragging on EVs (and full speed ahead on hybrids) look fairly wise, though the timeline along a bumpy road still gets us to full electrification by 2035.

Italian supercar producer Lamborghini, in business since 1963, is also proceeding, incrementally, toward battery power. In an interview, Federico Foschini , Lamborghini’s chief global marketing and sales officer, talked about the new Urus SE plug-in hybrid the company showed at its lounge in New York on Monday.

The Urus SE interior gets a larger centre screen and other updates.
Lamborghini

The Urus SE SUV will sell for US$258,000 in the U.S. (the company’s biggest market) when it goes on sale internationally in the first quarter of 2025, Foschini says.

“We’re using the contribution from the electric motor and battery to not only lower emissions but also to boost performance,” he says. “Next year, all three of our models [the others are the Revuelto, a PHEV from launch, and the continuation of the Huracán] will be available as PHEVs.”

The Euro-spec Urus SE will have a stated 37 miles of electric-only range, thanks to a 192-horsepower electric motor and a 25.9-kilowatt-hour battery, but that distance will probably be less in stricter U.S. federal testing. In electric mode, the SE can reach 81 miles per hour. With the 4-litre 620-horsepower twin-turbo V8 engine engaged, the picture is quite different. With 789 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque on tap, the SE—as big as it is—can reach 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and attain 193 mph. It’s marginally faster than the Urus S, but also slightly under the cutting-edge Urus Performante model. Lamborghini says the SE reduces emissions by 80% compared to a standard Urus.

Lamborghini’s Urus plans are a little complicated. The company’s order books are full through 2025, but after that it plans to ditch the S and Performante models and produce only the SE. That’s only for a year, however, because the all-electric Urus should arrive by 2029.

Lamborghini’s Federico Foschini with the Urus SE in New York.
Lamborghini

Thanks to the electric motor, the Urus SE offers all-wheel drive. The motor is situated inside the eight-speed automatic transmission, and it acts as a booster for the V8 but it can also drive the wheels on its own. The electric torque-vectoring system distributes power to the wheels that need it for improved cornering. The Urus SE has six driving modes, with variations that give a total of 11 performance options. There are carbon ceramic brakes front and rear.

To distinguish it, the Urus SE gets a new “floating” hood design and a new grille, headlights with matrix LED technology and a new lighting signature, and a redesigned bumper. There are more than 100 bodywork styling options, and 47 interior color combinations, with four embroidery types. The rear liftgate has also been restyled, with lights that connect the tail light clusters. The rear diffuser was redesigned to give 35% more downforce (compared to the Urus S) and keep the car on the road.

The Urus represents about 60% of U.S. Lamborghini sales, Foschini says, and in the early years 80% of buyers were new to the brand. Now it’s down to 70%because, as Foschini says, some happy Urus owners have upgraded to the Performante model. Lamborghini sold 3,000 cars last year in the U.S., where it has 44 dealers. Global sales were 10,112, the first time the marque went into five figures.

The average Urus buyer is 45 years old, though it’s 10 years younger in China and 10 years older in Japan. Only 10% are women, though that percentage is increasing.

“The customer base is widening, thanks to the broad appeal of the Urus—it’s a very usable car,” Foschini says. “The new buyers are successful in business, appreciate the technology, the performance, the unconventional design, and the fun-to-drive nature of the Urus.”

Maserati has two SUVs in its lineup, the Levante and the smaller Grecale. But Foschini says Lamborghini has no such plans. “A smaller SUV is not consistent with the positioning of our brand,” he says. “It’s not what we need in our portfolio now.”

It’s unclear exactly when Lamborghini will become an all-battery-electric brand. Foschini says that the Italian automaker is working with Volkswagen Group partner Porsche on e-fuel, synthetic and renewably made gasoline that could presumably extend the brand’s internal-combustion identity. But now, e-fuel is very expensive to make as it relies on wind power and captured carbon dioxide.

During Monterey Car Week in 2023, Lamborghini showed the Lanzador , a 2+2 electric concept car with high ground clearance that is headed for production. “This is the right electric vehicle for us,” Foschini says. “And the production version will look better than the concept.” The Lanzador, Lamborghini’s fourth model, should arrive in 2028.