DreamSpace

a system of science-backed sleep products for preschool-age children

independent design engineering project | MDE - Harvard GSD

project goal: develop a solution aimed at childhood sleep problems that encourages bedtime consistency and self-soothing practices through the integration of age-appropriate and scientifically proven techniques to induce relaxation and sleep at bedtime

contribution: scientific, market, & user research; technical product design; physical prototyping

team member: Cate Tompkins

tools & processes: adobe after effects, illustrator, photoshop, figma, solidworks

background and motivation

Sleep is one of the most underrated tools for good health despite its relative accessibility
Young children with behavioral insomnia or nightmares often resist bedtime (up to 50% of 3-5yo children), have difficulty falling asleep, and wake frequently in the night, which can add more stress to already stretched thin & overtired caregivers.
Current offerings lack accessibility and personalization options

process

Research: academic, stakeholder & market review
Mapping: understanding the user journey and the nature of sleep cycles
Defining the problem
Prototyping: form, function, materials, elements, etc.
Product/prototype and technology assessments
Product testing and refinement

solution

DreamSpace provides parents with a sleep solution that encourages bedtime consistency and self-soothing practices through the integration of age-appropriate and scientifically proven techniques to induce relaxation and sleep at bedtime.

DreamSpace is a system of sleep products for preschool aged children that consists of a therapeutic night light, a companion app for parents, and a multi-sensory, educational bedtime story.

defining the problem

Review of the literature through PubMed key search terms

Analyzed Facebook groups and Reddit threads for single parents

HMS/BWH Sleep Scientist, Boston Children’s Hospital physician, Harvard Center on the Developing Child Director, Children’s Book Author, SleepScore Venture Investors, MGH IHP Pediatric Occupational Therapist, Harvard iLab Experts in Residence, Developmental Learning & Mindfulness Specialist

Led a community conversation with 34 participants from under-resourced Boston neighborhoods (Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, and East Boston) on sleep hygiene challenges and remediation techniques

Nine IRB-approved interviews with families in under-resourced Boston neighborhoods, 9 additional interviews with higher income families

literature review

online forum studies

expert stakeholder

interviews

community conversation

customer interviews

common childhood sleep disorders

behavioral Insomnia

Prevalent in 10-30% of children (ages 0 to 12 years).

Behavioral insomnia is characterized by difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, and is divided into two types: sleep-onset association & limit-setting.

Nightmares

~50% of children between the ages of 3 and 6 report frequent nightmares.

Nightmares are the most prevalent of parasomnia disorders and are characterized by unpleasant dreams and increased sympathetic (heart and respiratory) response.

source: Carter et al. 2014

sleep deprivation effects in caregivers

slowness or inhibited mental processes

interfere with ability to manage emotions

reduces abilityy to stay calm when confronted with negative stimuli

interfere with caregivers' ability to express joy

levels of sleep impact

the problem:

Young children with behavioral insomnia or nightmares often resist bedtime, have difficulty falling asleep, and wake frequently in the night, which can add more stress to already stressed out, stretched thin & overtired caregivers.

focus group: conversation on sleep

Existing conditions, challenges and solutions surrounding caregiver sleep

Existing solutions to child slep challenges

none

restrict technology

parent stays in room

sleep in parents' bed

medication

sleep study

self soothe

hypothesis:

By providing caregivers of young children a calming and accessible product that reduces the struggles of pediatric behavioral insomnia and the impact of nightmare disturbances, we can improve the bedtime experience, reduce sleep onset time, and improve quality of sleep; therefore improving overall familial wellbeing.

developing the product

design principles

calming

accessible

personal

Calming: Stories, Shape, Light, Music

Accessible: simple to use for both adults and children and distributed for many income levels

Personal: Personalize light and sound device settings, Goal setting, Sound library

exploration of form

Emotive design informed how we could best express the calming, yet fun character of our product. Here are a few mini sculptures we made while exploring this space.

Studies have shown positive emotions are represented certain curve patterns, aspect ratios and direction. Trust and joy, which we hope to express in our product are represented by an object with big smooth curves that stands upright, and is bottom heavy with a round aspect ratio.

exploration of light

Red and orange light is beneficial at nighttime, so we focused on exploring the specific wavelength of the light, ranging from strong red to more orange and amber wavelengths.

evolution of product

prototyping in motion

To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

introducing dreamspace

making bedtime easier &

more enjoyable for everyone

Audio speaker to play relaxing sounds and stories
Melatonin-supporting light wavelength
Parent- and child-friendly interface
Connected to and controlled by companion app

the dreamlight

sleep adventures

This bedtime story is short, includes engaging and calming multi-sensory elements such as scented pages and small felt graphics like the sun pictured below, to engage the young readers, and its purpose is to convey the importance of sleep at an age appropriate reading level as well as subtle sleep tips for parents.

dreamspace

Dreamspace is the system that consists of the dreamlight, the Sleep Adventures bedtime story and the accompanying smartphone app, dreamspace.

The smartphone app has a variety of features deisgned to encourage and support education, goal setting, progress tracking, as well as personalization of the dreamlight. The videos below summarize these features.

Summary of the general features including of the application including story selection, settings, and progress tracking.

Overview of the goal setting feature of the app which would occur during the initial setup process of the system.

assessing impact

Evidence for potential efficacy

Sources: Mindell et al, 2018; Schlarb et al, 2018; Hale et al, 2018; LeBourgeois et al. 2017; Jo et al, 2019

mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy

Children undergoing CBT practices we have implemented have experienced great remission from a Behavioral Insomnia of Childhood diagnosis
CBT assists in reducing child wakefulness in bed, sleep onset latency, and frequency of sleeping with parents
CBT aids in improving sleep efficiency

sources: Schlarb et al, 2018, Dewald-Kaufmann et al. 2019

light wavelength

Children’s circadian system has increased sensitivity to light
Dim, red light does not suppress/block melatonin like bright white/blue lights do
Replaces “screen time” at night, which is associated with delayed bedtimes, fewer hours of sleep, and poorer sleep quality

sources: Zhao et al. 2012; Zhang et al. 2016 ; LeBourgeois et al. 2017