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Mark Zuckerberg builds 'sleep box' to help wife maximize rest

The Facebook CEO's creation lets Priscilla Chan know when their kids are likely to wake up.

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Priscilla Chan found her sleep was impacted by checking the time, so husband Mark Zuckerberg found a way for her to avoid doing so.

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Facebook's creator turned his engineering talents in a new direction -- helping his wife, Priscilla Chan, get enough sleep.

Knowing Chan gets stressed when she's aware of the time, Mark Zuckerberg built a wooden "sleep box" to gently let her know it's time to get up, he revealed in a Saturday Instagram post.

The box sits on her nightstand and emits a soft glow between 6 and 7 a.m. -- the time their daughters, Maxima and August, usually wake up. The light is faint enough that it won't wake Chan, but visible enough to alert her to the time if she's awake, so she'll know one of them should go and check on the kids.

"So far this has worked better than I expected and she can now sleep through the night," he wrote.

"As an engineer, building a device to help my partner sleep better is one of the best ways I can think of to express my love and gratitude."

Zuckerberg also suggested that some entrepreneur might want to build more sleep boxes so more people can have an alternative to checking the time. But, if you can't wait for the sleep box to go on sale, you can make your own

If you want more insights from the social network czar, he recently started a podcast.

First published at 3:19 a.m. PT.
Updated at 3:44 a.m. PT: Adds more detail.

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