Exclusive Article By Donna Jo at EMRIndustry
No matter whether you’re a technophile or more of a technophobe, it is impossible to deny the huge effect that technology has had in terms of simplifying and streamlining our lives. The fact is that technology has improved our lives in an almost endless number of ways. Moreover, all of this is likely just the tip of the iceberg, and most experts predict that over the next few decades new technologies will completely transform and revolutionize the world in ways that we currently can’t even imagine. Of course, there’s no need to wait to jump aboard the tech train as there are already a huge range of devices available that can make you feel like you’re already living in a futuristic world. With this in mind, we’ll now take a look at a few types of smart home technology and how these devices can not only help to simplify your life, but also provide important benefits for your health.
Creating Better Sleep Patterns with Smart Home Lighting
Sleep is undoubtedly one of the most important factors in your overall health and well-being. However, statistics show that approximately 35 percent of adult Americans regularly get less than the recommended seven hours of sleep per night. While this may not sound like that big of an issue, the numbers show that this same group is also statistically more likely to be overweight and also to suffer from various chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), arthritis, depression and diabetes. Based on this evidence, it is easy to see why getting enough sleep is so important. However, one of the biggest issues facing people’s sleeping patterns is artificial lighting, which can interfere with the body’s circadian rhythm and cause difficulties falling asleep at a normal time or staying asleep throughout the night.
This is one area where smart home technology can potentially provide numerous benefits by automatically adjusting the brightness and color of your home’s lighting so as to better mimic the natural changes in sunlight that occur throughout the day. By acting more like natural light, this type of technology can help to support natural sleep-wake patterns and thus provide great benefits to your overall health.
Improving Indoor Air Quality with Smart HVAC Systems
Indoor air quality is another factor that can have a major impact on your overall health and also an area where using smart home technology can provide major benefits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the concentration of certain air pollutants is often two to five times higher in indoor environments than it is outdoors, and these air pollutants have the potential to cause numerous health problems, including heart and respiratory diseases and cancer. In light of this, many people have begun turning to smart HVAC systems and air purification systems in an effort to improve their home’s indoor air quality. Furthermore, these smart HVAC systems also provide far more control over your home’s heating and air conditioning to allow for added comfort and energy savings.
Staying Safe with Smart Fire Alarms
The fact that home fires cause more than 3,000 deaths in the United States each year means that smoke detectors and fire alarms are obviously something that every person needs to have in their home. However, you now have the option to upgrade to a smart smoke detector that provides even more high-tech functionality. As with other smart home devices, these smoke detectors can connect directly to your home’s Wi-Fi network. In this way, you can automatically receive notifications on your smartphone should the system detect smoke or a fire. In addition, these systems make it easy to ensure that your smoke detectors are working properly as you can run a simple alarm test from your phone as well. Depending on which device you choose, you can also take advantage of numerous additional features such as emergency lighting and support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
The fact that smart home technology has exploded in popularity has a lot to do with just how useful these various devices are and how much easier they can make your life. Of course, you’ll obviously have to pay a bit more for a smart device compared to a traditional smoke detector or lighting system. Still, the fact that these devices can provide great benefits to your health means that it will definitely be money well spent.
