Popular Science USA March 2014

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R I S E o f t h e

i n s e c t D RONE S

JANUARY 2014 / P OP ULAR SC IENCE / 3938 / P OP ULAR SC IENCE / JANUARY 2014

Naturespentmillionso fyears perfectingflapping-wingflight. Nowengineers canreproduceit withmachines.

PhotographbyTravisRathboneByAdamPiore

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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/popular-science-usa-march-2014 42/90048 / POPULAR SCIENCE

U R T E S Y J A W B O N E

S L E E P.

SOLUTIONS

NO MORE

NIGHTMARESThe occasional sweatybad dream is just abother, but five percent

of adults have frequentnightmares, which candisrupt sleep enough tointerfere with wakinglife too. And for the 7.7million American adultswith PTSD, the propor-tion climbs to 71 percent.The American Acade-my of Sleep Medicinerecently came out withtwo offi cial recommen-

dations for how to chaseaway bad dreams. Bothare commonly used inveterans’ hospitals.

A Completely

UnscientificSleepStudy

Many of the latest

fitness trackers also claim

to monitor sleep, so I

decided to test a few. I

strapped four of them to

my arm 24/7 for a week of

self-designed experiments.

Some nights, I curbed caf-

feine, exercised early, andgot to bed on time. Other

nights, I suffered from jet

lag, stayed up way too late

watching Homeland , or

experienced the ill effects

of too much bourbon. The

results were mixed.

3. Fitbit ForceSLEEKEST

How it works: In addition to

an accelerometer, a calorie-burn algorithm, and a meal log,the device has an altimeter tomeasure number of stairs (orhills) climbed.My take: The attractive, com-fortable, and straightforwardFitbit Force was the only deviceI’ll consider wearing in thefuture. But it gave me identicalscores on a night I slept reallywell and on one when I slepthorribly after a Homeland marathon. $129.95

Data: 4 Ease of use: 1 0

Looks: 9 Comfort: 1 0

BEST SWEAT MONITOR

How it works: An accelerom-eter and sensors track heartrate, calorie burn, skin tempera-ture, and perspiration.My take: The unit repeatedlyfailed to sync with the app andwebsite, and the minimal sleep

data didn’t match how I reallyslept. (But its sweat featuredid encourage me to lowerthe thermostat at night.) Thecompany says a new versionthis year will evaluate REM anddeep sleep, as well as tossingand turning in bed. $199

Data: 2 Ease of use: 2

Looks: 5 Comfort: 7

Plus:ONE APP

Sleep apps generally use a

smartphone’s internal acceler-ometer to monitor movementin bed, requiring you to put yourphone facedown on the cornerof your mattress. I tried SleepCycle, which claims to recordsleep patterns and sound amorning alarm within a 30-minute range when your sleepis lightest (for the least groggystart to the day). In practice,its sleep grades were suspect.The dreadful Night of Bourbon,which included waking up at 4a.m. with heartburn, scored arespectable 81 out of 100. 99¢

1. Jawbone Up24EASIEST TO USE

How it works: An acceler-ometer that measures motiontracks both activity and rest(including sleep). An algorithmuses its data to calculate calo-ries burned based on the user’ssex, weight, height, and age.

My take: The app breaksdown sleep into light and deepphases, supposedly basedon small differences in bodymovement. Yet on nights wheremy notes say I woke manytimes, the Up24 claims I sleptsoundly. $149.99

Data: 5 Ease of use: 1 0

Looks: 8 Comfort: 1 0

4. BodyMediaFit LinkBEST SLEEP TRACKER

How it works: It has sensorsfor sweat, skin temperature,heat flux, and an accelerometer.My take: Although itchy andawkwardly placed on my upperarm, it was the most accurate.On terrible nights, it was theonly one that came close toreflecting how many times Iwoke up. But it wasn’t perfect,claiming 78 percent sleepefficiency* on the night I feltI slept the best and 90 percentwhen I had jet lag. $119

Data: 8 Ease of use: 8

Looks: 4 Comfort: 3

*Sleep efficiency: Percentage of minutes in bed that were actually spent sleeping

2 Imagery-rehearsal therapy is acognitive-behavioral technique.

During the day, patients rehearse

the nightmare in detail but giveit a happier ending. Over time,

the dream becomes less frequentand less upsetting.

1Prazosin, a blood-pressure drug,

also alleviates recurring night-

mares. While the underlyingmechanisms are unknown, the

medication may work by blockingthe neurotransmitter noradren-

aline, a chemical involved in the

fight-or-flight response.

H O M E

G A D G E T

T E S T

These statements have not been evaluated by the Foo d & Drug Administration . This produc t is not in tended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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THE WORLD’S

MOST ADVANCEDBUILDING

MATERIAL IS . . .

AND IT’SGOING TO

REMAKE THESKYLINE

BYCLAYRISEN34

E N H A N S I T

Popular Science USA March 2014

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