The Sleep Revolution: From badge of exhaustion to badge of honour
My journey across three continents taught me that everything starts with sleep. When I first stepped into the wellness space, I thought I understood health. I focused on nutrition, exercise, and mindfulness—the usual suspects.
But the deeper I dove, the more one truth became undeniable: if you're not sleeping, nothing works.
That realisation sent me down a rabbit hole that would take me from San Diego to Miami to London, exploring the world of sleep innovation and discovering why sleep might finally be getting the recognition it
deserves.
With approximately two billion people worldwide affected by sleep disorders out of a global population of 8 billion, the potential impact of this sleep revolution extends far beyond wellness trends—it's a global health imperative. Ireland's sleep challenges aren't unique—Japan averages just six hours and six minutes nightly, while cultural sleep debt affects billions worldwide.
The Foundation: Eat, Move, Sleep, Connect
We've all heard the mantra about eating well and moving more, but I've come to believe the order matters. Sleep isn't just another pillar of health—it's the foundation everything else is built on.
Without quality sleep, even the best nutrition and exercise routines fall short. This understanding led me to seek out the companies and experts who are revolutionising how we approach sleep health.
San Diego: Learning from the Sleep Giants
My first stop was ResMed in San Diego, arguably the world's biggest sleep company. During my time exploring their approach, I learned just how sophisticated sleep medicine has become, particularly around obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—a condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, affecting nearly 1 billion adults worldwide.
ResMed specialises in CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) devices, which deliver pressurised air through a mask to keep airways open during sleep. Traditionally, these machines were bulky, noisy contraptions that many patients abandoned within months.
Watch: It's a Jungle speaks with Charles from ResMed about sleep apnea
What struck me most was their philosophy about creating tech that people love. When I had the opportunity to experience one of their latest OSA CPAP devices, it felt surprisingly comfortable—almost
enhancing, if that's possible. The modern devices are whisper-quiet, compact enough to sit discreetly on a bedside table, and use masks that feel more like a comfortable sleep accessory than medical equipment.
This technology is readily available in Ireland through sleep clinics and the HSE, though waiting lists can be lengthy. The shift represents something profound: medical technology companies are no longer focused on just clinical effectiveness—they're prioritising user experience and long-term adherence.
Miami: The Don't Die Summit and Sleep Optimisation
From San Diego, I headed to Miami for Bryan Johnson's Don't Die Summit. Johnson, a 47-year-old tech entrepreneur who sold his company, Braintree, for $800 million, has become a controversial figure in the longevity space by spending over $2 million annually on antiaging protocols.
His extreme approach—calling himself a "professional sleeper" and treating sleep as priority number one above work and social obligations— illustrated just how far some people are willing to go in pursuit of perfect sleep.
Johnson aims for exactly eight hours of sleep nightly, going to bed at the same time every evening and waking without an alarm. His methodical tracking of every sleep metric, obsessive consistency with
bedtime and wake times, and meticulous light exposure regulation showed what happens when someone applies Silicon Valley optimisation thinking to sleep.
Johnson's pursuit of "perfect sleep scores" through devices like WHOOP and Oura Ring demonstrated the growing appetite for data-driven sleep improvement. While research supports the importance of consistent sleep schedules and 7-9 hours nightly for most adults, Johnson's extreme protocols go far beyond what sleep scientists typically recommend.
His approach is far more extreme than most people may want or perhaps need, but the summit highlighted an important shift: sleep optimisation has moved from fringe biohacking into broader wellness conversations.
London: The Wearable Revolution with Oura
My final stop was London, where I had the opportunity to speak with Dor Kilroy, Oura's Chief Commercial Officer. Dor, an Irish native now based in the US, was particularly passionate about how their ring technology can advance women's health understanding through accessible sleep data.
"Our data shows that Irish Oura members have, on average, lower sleep scores than their UK and US counterparts," Kilroy revealed, suggesting there's particular room for improvement in Ireland's sleep habits.
Watch: It's a Jungle speaks with Dor Kilroy about a sleep study conducted on 100k women
But what exactly are the gaps in women's health understanding? Historically, medical research has been heavily male-focused, leaving women with limited data about how hormonal cycles, pregnancy, and menopause affect sleep patterns.
Oura's technology tracks body temperature variations, heart rate variability, and sleep stages—data that can reveal ovulation patterns, early pregnancy signs, and menopausal transitions.
Their approach to sleep tracking fascinated me. The ring isn't just a measurement device—it's designed to be a conversation starter that gets people talking about sleep and wearable tech. Kilroy explained that many users bring their sleep data to doctors' appointments, opening discussions that might never have happened otherwise.
This focus on women's health is particularly crucial during life transitions —from pregnancy tracking to perimenopause support—addressing health gaps that have historically left women with limited data about their own bodies.
I started using the Oura ring myself, and I've found something unexpectedly reassuring about consistently checking my sleep data each morning. What's particularly practical is that the ring only needs charging once a week and is so comfortable I forget I'm wearing it.
It creates a feedback loop that matches how I'm feeling with objective data, and it feels like an accessible starting point before diving into more complicated health metrics.
The Cultural Shift: Sleep as a Badge of Honour
Perhaps the most significant change I've witnessed is cultural. We're moving away from the old paradigm where saying "I only got three hours of sleep" was somehow a badge of honour—a symbol of how hard
we're working, or how important we are.
Instead, we're entering an era where getting enough quality sleep is the new badge of honour. It signals that you understand optimisation, that you're playing the long game, and that you're serious about peak
performance.
Why This Matters Now
The stakes are tangible: sleep scientist Dr. Cheri Mah's research shows that just 15 minutes more sleep each night can be the difference between an A and a B grade for students. The health implications are
equally stark—just one night of four hours of sleep can reduce cancer-fighting immune cells by 70%.
Small, consistent improvements in sleep translate directly into sharper minds and better performance. What excites me most about this journey is seeing how both ResMed and Oura are pushing boundaries in two crucial areas.
First, they're developing products that consumers genuinely love using. Gone are the days of clunky medical devices or uncomfortable tracking technology. These companies understand that the best health technology is the kind people actually want to engage with daily.
Second, they're proactively looking at how they can better serve women through the data they're gathering. This focus on previously underserved populations in sleep medicine is both encouraging and long overdue.
The Data Revolution: Just the Beginning
We're living in an unprecedented time for sleep health, and we're only at the very beginning of understanding what this wealth of personal data can tell us. The amount of data and insights available to everyday consumers would have been unimaginable just a decade ago.
Companies are developing products that don't just measure sleep—they interpret it, providing actionable insights that help us understand what affects our sleep and how to improve it.
What's particularly powerful about these wearables is their ability to reveal trends over time rather than fixating on individual nights. While wearables are about 75% accurate compared to lab equipment, sleep
scientists emphasise that tracking trends over time matters more than perfect precision.
A poor sleep score on a single evening might be due to countless factors, but patterns emerging over weeks and months can reveal genuine insights about your health, stress levels, and lifestyle choices.
This data is already proving valuable—many users report bringing their sleep trends to medical appointments, giving doctors a clearer picture of their health patterns. But we're still in the early stages of realising the full potential of this information.
Watch: It's a Jungle speaks with Charles from ResMed about AI and sleep
Sleep tracking may evolve into early diagnosis tools—changes in sleep patterns can begin in our 30s, years before obvious symptoms of conditions like dementia appear. As artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to advance, the insights derived from our sleep data will become exponentially more valuable and personalised.
This democratisation of sleep science means we can all become more proactive about our health, making informed decisions based on trends and patterns rather than guesswork.
The real value lies not in perfect scores, but in understanding your personal baselines and using that knowledge to make meaningful improvements to your wellbeing.
Looking Forward
My journey through the sleep health landscape has convinced me that we're at an inflection point. Sleep is finally being recognised not as time lost to productivity, but as the foundation that makes everything else
possible.
Whether it's ResMed's innovative medical devices helping people with sleep disorders breathe easier, Oura's elegant tracking technology making sleep data accessible, or the broader cultural shift towards sleep optimisation, we're witnessing the beginning of a sleep revolution.
The companies that will succeed in this space aren't just those with the best technology—they're those that understand that great health tech must be technology that people love to use.
Watch: It's a Jungle speaks with Dor Kilroy about sleep and alcohol
Perhaps the simplest place to start this sleep revolution? Get morning light. As ResMed experts emphasise, this single habit tells your body it's time to start the day—and sets the stage for better sleep that night.
The bottom line: If you want to optimise your health, start with sleep. Everything else builds from there.
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