New “MUJI to Sleep” App for iPhone/Android

MUJI has released a mobile app developed to help people relax and fall asleep. The “MUJI to Sleep” app is now available free in app stores for iPhone and Android.

MUJI has won legions of fans for its refined products and tidy stores that offer a bastion of calm: soft bedding, calming aroma diffusers, and organizational tools to return chaos to order. But among MUJI’s most popular throughout the world has been its Well-Fitted Neck Cushion. The cushion won Trip Advisor’s 2014 “Travelers’ Choice” award in the neck pillow category and has sold more than 300,000 cushions in Japan alone.

The MUJI to Sleep app plays six different calming sounds from nature: seaside waves, birds, a crackling bonfire, a river, forest, and waterfall. Each was recorded using binaural microphones to create a sense of place that transports the listener to the calm of each location. The app’s straightforward interface and concept reflects MUJI’s philosophy of paring things down to their essential elements.

In Japan, the app has become the most popular download among free apps in the area of health and fitness.

The MUJI to Sleep short film shows how the popular neck cushion has crossed over from being a travel product to being a pillow that helps people rest in diverse situations. The app demonstrates MUJI’s interest in combining products with technology as a way to add value to those products.

Top row, from left: MUJI to Sleep app showing display sounds for bonfire and forest sounds. MUJI used a head-shaped binaural microphone to create a sound quality that more closely duplicates the experience of actually being in each location; here, the microphone records sounds from the Ayugaeri Waterfall and ocean waves at the popular seaside getaway Enoshima (left and right, respectively).

Middle row: MUJI’s Well-Fitted Neck Cushion $24.50 regular price ($19.50 at LTV Sale).

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Bottom row: Two stills from the MUJI to Sleep short film show how the neck cushion has become popular not only as a travel pillow but to help people sleep in diverse situations throughout the day.

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