Over the past three weeks, we've been exploring the world of sleep, in order to find a need. This week, we stepped it up and decided to use more methods in addition to interviewing after learning about ethnography from Dana Gordon that specializes in cultural aspects. Dana talked about ethnography and showed us the value that shadowing and probs bring to our research for defining our need.
Following our research this week, we were able to sharpen our need and understand our users better. We were surprised to learn that 25% of the population suffers/will suffer from insomnia, mainly elders and women. We joined Facebook groups and published a questionnaire via Google Forms and learned that there is huge frustration among those people. Therefore we validated our need, which is helping people with insomnia to fall asleep, with a focus on women (as most of the insomnia among elders is due to the imbalance in the melatonin hormone).
In addition to each interview, we asked our participants to perform various tasks.
Task 1- Each participant was shown a sheet of paper with an illustration of a bedroom with a basic bed and one pillow. They were asked to draw and/or write what is important for them to be in their bedroom in order to ensure falling asleep in a good manner.
For example, the participant on the left wanted the whole room to be a mattress and to have pillows everywhere so he can fall asleep anywhere he wants to. The participant on the right described himself as a task person, therefore he wanted a task board in front of his bed (that way that is the first thing that he sees when he wakes up and the last thing he sees before falling asleep).
Task 2- The participants were asked to send us a voice message when they got into bed at night and another one when they woke up. At night they were asked to share information on their day after returning home, what they are going to do before falling asleep and to estimate the time it will take to fall asleep. In the morning they were asked to share how their sleep was and how they are feeling.
Ethnography work-
Quotes-
"It's getting up every morning knowing that I can't believe that I'm going to go through it again, I already know I'll suffer all night so just knowing that puts you in a bad loop and in anxiety"
"I'm surviving the day, I'm the worst version of myself, the whole way that I manage my life looks different because of that."
"Usually when I can't fall asleep it is because I study until late .In my subconscious I keep thinking about studying"
Interview with Dr. Arye Oxenberg, Head of the Sleep Disorders Diagnosis Unit at Lowenstein Hospital
Our presentation-
