Glasgow, Mar 16th: A ‘smart pillow’ which enables people to access digital content at bedtime without looking at screens could help cut down on problematic evening smartphone use, its inventors say.\A ‘smart pillow’ which enables people to access digital content at bedtime without looking at screens could help cut down on problematic evening smartphone use, its inventors say.
Computing scientists at the University of Glasgow have built the prototype device, which builds a speaker and tactile sensors into an ordinary pillow.
Instead of scrolling on their phone screens before bed, users can touch, press and even hug the pillow to control music, podcasts or audiobooks streamed from their device using a purpose-built app.
The pillow aims to help make digital consumption more compatible with the onset of sleep, a delicate physiological process which can be easily disrupted by the distractions late-night screen use can create.
By enabling people to enjoy content with their eyes closed instead, the pillow is designed to help users drop off to sleep more easily while still enjoying the wind-down time that late-night smartphone use provides.
Dr Xianghua ‘Sharon’ Ding, of the University of Glasgow’s School of Computing Science, led the team which developed the device. She is the corresponding author of a paper on the pillow which will be presented at a conference this week.
Dr Ding said: “Screen time before bed can have negative impacts on the quality of people’s sleep. Research has shown that it can delay the onset of sleep, making people more tired the next day and raising their chances of developing physical and mental health problems.
“However, digital consumption before bed can also allow people to meet important emotional needs. Smartphone content can help users decompress, relax, and enjoy personal time before sleep.
“In the past, technology aimed at improving sleep has focused on tracking habits, interventions to encourage regular bedtimes, or promoting relaxation though scent or sounds. In developing our device, we wanted to explore whether it was possible to use the very familiar and comforting form of a pillow to harness the positive benefits of night-time smartphone use while cutting out the potential harms.”
The team began the design process by building of the pillow’s companion app, which allows users to choose what they want to listen to at bedtime from a selection including music, news and audiobooks.
At the same time, they built a simple prototype pillow which which streamed content to the speaker using the app. The pillow’s initial design featured two functions based on hugging. A sensor in the pillow allowed users to turn the pillow’s speaker on with a hug, and turn it off again with the same motion.
Based on the team’s own feedback on the initial design, they refined it further to give it more personality. They embroidered a simple cat face design to the front of the pillow to enable users to more easily find their way around the pillow without opening their eyes. They also added two additional sensors into fabric ‘ears’ to enable track skipping, and another sensor in the cat’s forehead to add another option for pause and play. Finally, they added pressure sensitivity to the controls to prevent accidental use during sleep.
Then, they invited 16 volunteers to take part in co-design sessions to evaluate the prototype and make their own suggestions of how the design could be refined or improved. The study participants enjoyed the tactile nature of the pillow, which some users said reminded them of childhood toys or pets, and others said would be likely to help relieve bedtime stress and increase their comfort through hugging.
The participants suggested a range of potential tweaks to the design, including animalshaped variants, gradual audio fade-out, haptic feedback instead of lights, and long-format body pillows for back sleepers.
While the study did not directly measure sleep outcomes, participants felt the smart pillow design could reduce distractions and better support their natural sleep routines.
Dr Ding added: “We’ve shown that there is real potential for a device like this to help people experience improved sleep onset without missing out on the benefits of smartphone use. The design we’ve co-created with study participants could enable people control digital content through a familiar, comforting object without opening their eyes, which in turn could support the delicate transition from wakefulness to sleep.
“What we’re keen to do from here is work our way to turning this research into a product that people can buy and use for themselves. We’re seeking partners to help bring this product to market in the future.”
Weiyun Wang, Kejin Yu and Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas of the University of Glasgow’s School of Computing Science contributed to the research and are co-authors of the paper.
The team’s paper, titled ‘”I Want to Keep My Phone Away From the Bed”: Designing a Smart Pillow for Sleep Onset, will be presented at the TEI’26 conference in Chicago on Tuesday 9 March 2026.
