Role

User Researcher

Wireframe

UX Designer

Team

Vin Li,

Rex yang,

Eric Ye

Timeline

Sep 2023 - Dec 2023

4 months

This project is a behavior-changing design project I worked on with a team of four during my master's program. With over 50 million Americans facing sleep disorders, children often struggle with irregular bedtimes and screen time before sleep, compromising their energy and health.

ZzzBuddy is an innovative mobile app that combines sleep tracking with effective Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) strategies and engaging gamification elements, empowering children to overcome sleep challenges and enhance their nightly rest.

ZzzBuddy

Solution

Project Objectives

Around 70% of teenagers suffer from sleep disturbances due to academic stress, irregular sleep schedules, and excessive screen time. Current sleep apps offer only generic information about sleep quality, failing to engage young users effectively.

Sleep Deprivation Among Teenagers Struggling with Irregular Routines

Develop an engaging mobile app to help teenagers improve their sleep habits.
Integrate behavior-changing techniques to provide personalized sleep strategies.

Connect users' sleep habits to the virtual pet's well-being, creating a meaningful relationship that encourages better sleep practices.
The app tracks daily sleep patterns and delivers personalized advice tailored to individual needs.

Project Problem

Design

The design features personalized sleep tracking with tailored suggestions, a gamified virtual pet system for motivation, and adaptive sleep hygiene options to enhance sleep habits.

Onboarding for personalized pet care

Users can choose and customize their virtual pet, giving it a unique name for a personal connection. They also complete a sleep quiz to find their ideal bedtime and receive tailored sleep hygiene recommendations, ensuring a personalized start to better sleep habits.

01

Gamification fosters healthy sleep habits

Users earn rewards to care for their sleep buddy by completing tasks like going to bed on time and practicing good sleep hygiene, with their habits directly impacting their pet's health and motivating better routines for both.

02

Personalized sleep insights & suggestions

The app tracks users' sleep quality upon task completion, providing tailored suggestions to improve their rest. If current sleep hygiene practices aren't effective, users receive three alternative options to enhance their routines and optimize their sleep.

03

Literature Research:
Introducing CBT-I Strategies

Consistent Sleep Schedule: Promotes regular sleep-wake cycles for better rest.
Relaxing Bedtime Routine: Encourages calming rituals to signal the body to wind down.
Optimized Sleep Environment: Focuses on adjusting room temperature, lighting, and noise for ideal sleep conditions.

Introducing CBT-I Strategies:

Pain points

Struggles with inconsistent sleep patterns due to late-night studying and screen time.

Goal

To develop healthier sleep habits that help her feel more energized and focused during the day.

Mia

Target User

Age: 17
Occupation: High School Student
Lifestyle: Juggling schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and social life.
Hobbies: Enjoys soccer and spending time with her 2 cats.

User Research

Ideation

Sleep Intervention

Gamification enhances sleep intervention by providing engaging rewards and feedback mechanisms that motivate users to maintain a consistent sleep schedule, ultimately leading to improved sleep duration and quality.

2. Build sleep habit

1. Onboard

4. Notification

3. Rewards

Prototypes

Scenario A: How can you tell if the sleep tasks are effective?

My Takeaways

Next Steps

Conduct additional user testing to gather insights for further improvements.
Enhance the gamification elements based on user preferences and feedback.

User Engagement with Rewards: Gamification significantly enhances user motivation and engagement in adopting healthier sleep habits.
Feedback Mechanism: Continuous user feedback is essential for refining features and ensuring the app meets user needs.