Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank says his company's new sleep garment will help you snooze better.
Photo by James Martin/CNET
Under Armour, the fast-growing fitness brand, wants to put you to sleep.
The company has developed a new type of sleepwear made from a fabric with a special pattern to absorb heat. That, the company says, will help you get a better night's sleep.
Under Armour calls the product Athlete Recovery Sleepwear, and it partnered with New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady to design them. The company introduced the Tom Terrific-influenced PJs, along with some app updates for its wearables, on Thursday at CES, the annual tech trade show in Las Vegas.
For the dreamy, it's the latest revolution in high-tech snoozing. For the cynical, it's a $200 pair of pajamas.
At the company's keynote on Friday, CEO Kevin Plank said the jammies were more than that.
"These aren't just pajamas," he said. "These are advantages."
Of course, good sleep doesn't come cheap. A long sleeve henley costs $100, as do the bottoms. If you're a t-shirt-and-shorts type, you get a $20 break on both the top and bottom.
Under Armour says the key to the garment is a special pattern on the inside lining that's meant to absorb heat and create something called "far infrared," which the sleepwear transfers back to the body. Under Armour says far infrared energy promotes better sleep and helps the body recover faster with better blood flow and cell regeneration.
"Performance is really tied to how athletes are sleeping," Glenn Silbert, Under Armour's senior vice president of product and licensing, said in an interview. "The right sleep makes you better."
Silbert says the company looked to Brady to provide insight as a professional athlete. He showed the team battle wounds from the gridiron, like a scar on his elbow. At age 39, he wanted faster recovery week after week. Silbert said Brady gets eight hours of sleep a night.
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It will cost $200 for both the top and bottom garments.
Photo by Richard Nieva/CNET
Plank said he wanted to innovate clothing at the scale of a tech company. He said he tells his Under Armour's engineers, "What are we going to do if Apple and Samsung decide to make apparel or footwear?"
Under Armour isn't alone in its fascination with sleep. The science of sleep has become an obsession in Silicon Valley. Apple has a "night shift" mode for iPhones that gives the colors on your phone warmer tones so they're easier on your eyes before bed. Several apps, like Sleep Cycle and Sleep Bot, track your patterns. Wearables like the Fitbit or Apple Watch also try to help.
During the keynote, Plank brought out Arianna Huffington, who wrote a book called "Thrive," about the importance of sleep. She touted the company's new mantra, "Rest. Win. Repeat."
"It's a lot better than 'I'll sleep when I'm dead," she said.
The company is also updating its UA Record app, which helps athletes track their bodies, as part of its new focus on sleep. Now, you'll be able to get a 14-day report on how you're sleeping, and the app will give you tips on how to get more consistent sleep. For example, it can suggest a good temperature for your room.
Separate from its sleep project, Under Armour also updated its MapMyRun app, which gives runners training and nutrition plans and helps them create running routes.
A new feature on the app is for Under Armour's connected footwear line -- shoes with a chip in the heel of the right shoe to help track and record data from your workouts. It's called Jump Test, and it asks a wearer jump up and down six times. Based on those jumps, the app gives you a score that tells you how prepared your body is to train that day.
On stage, Plank brought out Olympian Michael Phelps to demonstrate the jump test. For an Olympian, his score was mediocre.
"How many nights have you been in Vegas?" Plank asked him.
"This is our second night."
"That looks like a night in Vegas," Plank said, referring to the score.
This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 1:29 p.m. PT.
Updated, Friday, January 6 4:33 p.m. PT: Adds quotes from Under Armour's keynote.
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