Saturday, April 29, 2017

This futuristic $300 white noise machine helped me get the best sleep ever

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/szKZCjFZbCY/nightingale-sleep-device-white-noise-machine-review-photos-2017-4
April 29, 2017 at 06:30PM

woman sleeping

White-noise machines are not a modern concept. But a white-noise machine that creates a sound blanket customized to your room's acoustics? That's new. 

And that's what the Nightingale does: It's a smart sleep system that masks all sorts of sounds, like car horns outside or snoring in the next room.

The Nightingale works by plugging into the outlets in a room and emitting noise based on the acoustic makeup of the space. If your bedroom is mainly glass and concrete, for example, Nightingale will emit sounds that won't echo off those reflective surfaces. 

I've now been sleeping with the Nightingale turned on for more the last week. Here's what it's like. 

SEE ALSO: This adorable device might be the world’s smallest 4G smartphone — check it out

It's easy to install — and there's no need to give up an outlet.

Nightingale consists of two rectangular boxes that plug into the wall outlets in your bedroom. The nice thing about the devices is that they have pass-through plugs, so you don't have to sacrifice outlet space in your room. 

Since the devices only need an outlet to work, Nightingale says you can travel with them, put them in hospital rooms, or move them around in your house. They also don't need to be unobstructed or out the open, so it's OK if you want to hide the devices behind furniture. 



The Nightingale also serves as a nightlight, if you need it.

Both devices have lights that glow either green, red, yellow, blue, or white to light your way to bed. I opted not to use the lights because they're very bright, but they can be helpful if your room gets very dark at night. 



Finding your "custom sound blanket" is pretty simple.

To use Nightingale, you'll need to download the iOS app (it's coming to Android soon). Once you plug in the two devices, you'll have to give Nightingale some information about the room it's in. Is it a hospital? A nursery? A master bedroom? 

From there, you'll need to tell the app a bit about the materials in the room. If your room is carpeted, your bedding is plush, and you have thick curtains, the sound will be a lot different than if your room has high ceilings and concrete floors. 

My bedroom is pretty standard: it has hardwood floors and big windows, but it's not particularly big and all my bedroom furniture is wood. I also don't have tinnitus (ringing in the ears) or a roommate that snores, so Nightingale chose the basic "General Bedroom Blanket" setting for my room. But there are 15 total sound blanket preferences within the app based on the type of room and your sleeping conditions. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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