--- title: The $12B+ sleep industry, explained - The Hustle description: Lack of sleep costs the American economy up to $400B a year. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1810098028-News-Brief_2022-02-16T011756.864Z.webp --- # The $12B+ sleep industry, explained ![Trung T. Phan](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Image-from-iOS-300x300.jpg?width=48&height=48&name=Image-from-iOS-300x300.jpg) [Trung T. Phan](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/trung-t-phan) [Trung T. Phan Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/TrungTPhan) Published: February 16, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 Did you get less than 7 hours of sleep last night? ![The $12B+ sleep industry, explained](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1810098028-News-Brief_2022-02-16T011756.864Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1810098028-News-Brief_2022-02-16T011756.864Z.webp) If so, you’re in the majority. More than ⅔ of Americans fail to hit that number for daily ZZZs, per [*The Economist*](https://www.economist.com/business/2022/02/12/the-sleep-tech-industry-is-waking-up). This sleep deficit leads to problems — like poor health and lower productivity — estimated to “cost America’s economy as much as $400B a year.” #### **The culprits are many** Widespread caffeine and alcohol consumption doesn’t help. Neither does having a rectangle distraction machine in our pockets all day. Back when there were no smartphones or laptops, the great-grandparents of today’s Americans got an average of 2 more hours of sleep a night. #### **Sleep tech is trying to fill the void** Per *The Economist*, the industry was worth $12.5B in 2020, including: - **Oura,** a $1B startup selling a $300 [titanium ring](https://ouraring.com/) that can track activity, heart, and oxygen levels - **Kokoon,** a company selling $200+ [wireless earbuds](https://ca.kokoon.io/) that play relaxing music and can track a user’s sleep stage based on blood-oxygen levels - **Eight Sleep,** maker of a $2k+ [mattress](https://www.eightsleep.com/) that heats and cools as a person’s body temperature changes throughout the night (it’s called the “Lamborghini of mattresses”) Major consumer tech players — like Huawei, Google, and Samsung — also sell sleep-tracking products. Meanwhile, a small company called Apple has activated [100m+](https://www.macworld.co.uk/news/how-many-apple-watches-sold-3801687/?amp) smartwatches with sleep (and health-tracking) features. #### **Does any of this work?** *The Economist* says that ~40% of sleep-wearable users “abandoned their device” when the effects didn’t take hold. Also, the tech lacks the “gold standard” to prove health efficacy: randomized controlled clinical studies. But with a total addressable market of **checks notes** anyone who sleeps, the business case for sleep tech isn’t going anywhere. 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