Nine Hours, or 9h, is a design-conscious capsule hotel chain with over 20 locations across Japan. The latest one recently opened in an office building owned by IT and business services provider NTT Data, and the two companies are partnering on more than just real estate. In 2021, Nine Hours began offering its guests a '9h sleep fitscan.' As they sleep, infrared cameras, microphones and other sensors inside the capsules gather data on various physiological sleep markers, including heartbeat, breathing, snoring and body movements. The data is compiled and analyzed using AI, and after checkout, guests receive their personal sleep report by email.
Now, through its partnership with NTT Data, Nine Hours is expanding 9h sleep fitscan. Its new hotel, dubbed Nine Hours Shinagawa Station Sleep Lab for Men, features 70 capsules, all fitted with cutting-edge yet non-invasive sleep analysis technology, including EEG and deep body temperature sensors. Both parties stand to gain from the collaboration: NTT Data is building out its food and wellness data business, and Nine Hours aims to leverage the new, advanced monitoring systems as it rolls out more sleep-tech hotels.
While the above might sound like a massive invasion of privacy, Nine Hours says all data is anonymized. To date, over 100,000 people consented to having their slumber scrutinized in what's presented as a mutually beneficial arrangement — guests get access to a far more rigorous review of their shuteye than a Fitbit or Apple Watch could provide, alerting them to potential issues like poor sleep quality or apnea, and Nine Hours collects swathes of data to share with or sell to university researchers and corporate R&D departments.
The capsule hotel as sleep lab is a sophisticated example of healthcare and wellness being integrated into nearly every aspect of daily life — a shift welcomed by consumers seeking to optimize how they feel and function. Nine Hours wants to scale up to analyzing 1 million people a year. Given the impact of sleep on everything from mental wellbeing and performance to cardiac health and lifespan, that amount of data could prove invaluable.