technabob » sleep

buzz zzz: vibrating pillows

lambert v. — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:30:58 +0000

We’ve already featured a pillow that can wake you up using light and an alarm clock that has a vibrate option. Here’s a quirky yet functional combination of the two: Vessel’s vibrating alarm clock pillow.

Just set the time on the pillow’s built-in clock and it will wake you – and only you – with a few buzzes. Simple right? It’s cool not only because it won’t wake up anyone else, the vibrating alarm means that deaf people can use it too. The pillow also has a conventional audible alarm option for people who don’t wake up easily. I’m not sure if it’s available outside of Japan though, but it’s for sale at Amazon Japan for ¥5000 ($55 USD).

Another Japanese manufacturer, France Bed, thinks that vibrating pillows can also help people to stop snoring. Their anti-snoring pillow has a built-in audio sensor with three levels of sensitivity that alerts the pillow to vibrate once the snoring starts.

And that’s not all: the anti-snoring pillow also has an audio jack, so if you hook up a recorder to the pillow you can record your snoring and verify that you need an anti-snoring pillow.

Japan Trend Shop is selling the anti-snoring pillow for $420 USD. If your snoring is really bad then maybe you could coax your loved ones to buy it for you, since they’ll benefit from it as well.

[via CScout Japan]

space invaders pillows: count aliens, not sheep

technabob — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:58:30 +0000

Catch an extra 40 winks tonight by laying your head on some of these comfy Space Invaders pillows. Created as part of Taito’s Space Invaders 30th anniversary celebration, they’re perfect for the retro gaming geek who has everything.

They come in the two designs shown above: one with a couple of large pixelated invaders, and the other design covered with tons of smaller alien dudes. Oh yeah, did I happen to mention that they glow in the dark? Sweet!

According to the product page over at importer NCSX, “The pillows are big enough to accommodate human heads, pets, and assorted wide loads,” making them perfect for use in my household.

They’re available for a limited time only and retail for $29.90 a pillow.

video game controller pillows: sweet dreams

technabob — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:56:31 +0000

Looking for a way to bring your gaming obsession into the bedroom? What better way but with a couple of these video game controller pillows on your bed.

Perfect in bed or on your sofa, these 20″ x 20″ pillows from Tofu Design ($40 each) are covered with images of controllers from just about every gaming console you could want. Every system from the Atari 2600 to the Intellivision to the NES to Wii is represented here. Heck, even the never released PS3 boomerang controller makes an appearance on these spectacular pillows. Can you guys name them all?

What’s not to like? As soon as you’re ready to rest your weary head on a couple of comfy cushions, head on over to Upper Playground and place your order. If pillows aren’t your thing, be sure to check out Tofu’s matching controller hoodie and t-shirt designs.

[via Apartment Therapy]

nes controller pillowcases: sweet dreams are made of these

technabob — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:42:46 +0000

When you sleep, do you dream in blocky 8-bit graphics? Are your sleepytime thoughts filled with visions of Link rescuing Zelda? Instead of counting sheep, do you count Koopa shells? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need a pair of these on your bed.

Designed by Nintendo fan Penguinotic, these handcrafted giant NES controller pillowcases are perfect for anyone who got their start button-mashing on Nintendo’s classic 8-bit console.

Each pillowcase is stitched from machine washable super-soft fleece, keeping you warm and cozy as you dream of Mario and Princess Peach walking off into the sunset.

A single NES controller pillow case will set you back $40, while a pair is $70. You can find them over on Penguinotic’s Etsy shop. They should fit most standard pillows, but she can custom sizes on request.

undercarriage lighting for your bed

technabob — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:27:53 +0000

Looking to impress the ladies in the bedroom? This gadget slips under your bed and gives it a cool blue glow that just screams “it’s time for make sexytime”.

Just like those lights you see under pimpmobiles, this saucer-shaped light source slides beneath your bed frame and casts a dreamy blue light in all directions. The 14 super-bright LEDs should last for countless nights of passion. You can grab one from from BoysStuff for £19.95 (appx. $36 USD).

Now all you need is a girlfriend, and you’ll be set.

are you getting enough sleep?

technabob — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 05:16:04 +0000

For those of us insomniacs who have lots of restless nights, there’s a new gadget out that’s designed to help us know how much sleep we’re really getting.

The $149 Sleeptracker is a watch-like device that straps to your wrist and monitors how much sleep you get by monitoring for movements while you’re tossing and turning in your sleep. The Sleeptracker records your sleep patterns in an on board database so you can understand if you’re really getting those 8 hours you thought you got.

It also monitors the times when you’re coming out of a sleep cycle and its alarm can be programmed to awaken you only when you’re already in an “almost awake” state, resulting in a gentle wake-up.

[via GearLog]

love your ipod? now you can sleep with it.

technabob — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 03:45:57 +0000

If you’re the type of person who can’t go anywhere without their iPod, you can even lie down with it in your bed and cradle it softly.

The MP3 Pillow, is a small pillow ( 9″ x 15″ x 6″) that looks like a giant music player. The pillow has a speaker and amp built in so you can listen to your music player while you drift off to sleep.

A hidden pocket in the back conceals your player and provides a mini connector for hookup. The giant “buttons” on the front can even control volume or change stations on the built-in FM tuner.

It’s just $19.95 USD and available now from ThinkGeek.