Sleepy Juan

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  Juan in action

We created Juan, a heart-shaped tamagotchi-like companion designed to help people reduce late-night phone use and improve sleep. Unlike apps or wearables, Juan is physical and tangible—a buddy you can hold, with a “heartbeat” that guides you into calm.

Our inspiration came from a problem close to us: despite knowing how harmful late-night scrolling is, we all struggle to put our phones down. With sleep quality declining globally, we wanted a playful but effective way to build better habits.

Juan reacts directly to user behaviour: when you put the phone away, he glows brighter and “lives longer”; if you ignore prompts, he dims and weakens. This emotional connection makes sleep hygiene feel engaging rather than clinical.

We built a prototype with a pulsing LED system, red light therapy mode, and a front-end interface where users set sleep goals.

Our challenges included hardware calibration, balancing fun with seriousness, and integrating everything under time pressure. In the future, we see Juan expanding with rewards, brand partnerships, and deeper customisation.

Built With

• arduino
• css3
• html5
• javascript
• node.js