On World Sleep Day, technology at the service of good sleep
The seat that questions neuroscience, the support for not snoring, the topper that promotes well-being. Sleeping well is also possible with the right device.
On the one hand there is the classic reclining chair with footrest, heated cushions and electric headrest. On the other is Aiora, an elegant and seemingly simple chair, which nevertheless uses pure mechanics to create an almost weightless experience for anyone who uses it. It has no electronics or sensors, relying instead on a few precision bearings: once you rest your back, you find a balance point and the sensation is that of floating.
"You are in control of everything, the movements are detected and implemented by your nervous system," explains its inventor David Wickett, whose background includes studies in furniture design, industrial design and biomedical engineering.
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Both Aiora and its predecessor, Elysium, are based on a biomechanical model he built himself for his PhD. "I worked with a chiropractor to understand how the pelvis moves when we sit, how this changes the shape of the spine and how this should affect the design of the chair. The result is a form that responds to the needs of our body, not the mere whims of a designer."
The seat is British-made, made in Cambridge from Danish fabrics, wool-blend or Muirhead leather for the premium version, the Signature (EUR 11,550). Besides being extremely comfortable, it has an unusual feature: using it involves a learning curve. Small movements produce unexpected effects and it takes a few minutes to understand the way your body interacts with the seat, but by then you are caught up in a feeling that verges on perfect balance.
Those who had already tested it reported experiences of deep meditation, so Wickett decided to study and investigate its effects at the Centre for Brain Science at the University of Essex. Laboratory results, obtained even from people with no previous meditation experience, showed brainwave patterns similar to those of people who have been practising Buddhist meditation for a long time.
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