This might be the smartest pillow in the world - here's what it's like to use

Sleep can benefit you in immense, life-changing ways. Getting good sleep, though, isn't always easy. In fact, a February report from the CDC found that roughly a third of Americans - an estimated 83.6 million people - do not consistently get the recommended 7 or more hours of rest each night.

There are several things anyone can do to rectify that, but naturally, a host of companies have also attempted to throw tech at the problem. Numerous fitness trackers boast the ability to measure and analyze your sleeping habits, while other gadgets like the Hello Sense sit alongside you to dissect your overall sleeping experience.

With all of those devices, though, you have to add something to the process of going to bed - be it a wearable on your wrist, or a monitor on your nightstand. Now, a group called REM-Fit thinks it can streamline this process by stuffing sleep measuring tech into a pillow you'd use anyway.

That so-called "smart pillow" is called the Zeeq, and it launched on Kickstarter earlier this week. As of this writing, it's up to $70,000 in funding, past its initial $50,000 target.

After sleeping with an early version of the device for the past few days, I can see the value, if only because it does many things.