The products and services mentioned below were selected independent of sales and advertising. However, Simplemost may receive a small commission from the purchase of any products or services through an affiliate link to the retailer's website.
For those that have trouble falling (and staying) asleep, getting enough rest can be a frustrating challenge.
Even if you try to go to sleep early, it’s not helpful if you toss and turn all night.
There’s a new tool that can help you get better sleep: the Sleep Shepard Blue.
Dr. Michael Larson is the founder of the Sleep Shepherd Blue.
A Mechanical Engineering professor with a Ph.D. from M.I.T. his inspiration came from his young daughter having a sleep disorder.
She had been prescribed a lot of medications to help her with her sleep and he thought, “there has to be a better way.”
So What Is It? And How Does It Work?
The original Sleep Shepherd (looks more like a beanie cap) got its start through a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014 and can now be found in stores like Amazon, Best Buy, Brookstone, Sharper Image, and The Grommet.
The Sleep Shepherd Blue is a wearable sleep tracker that’s shaped like a headband. According to the product description:
“It’s the first – and only – product to actively promote better sleep and track brainwave activity, which is what sleep professionals use to determine actual sleep stages. The Sleep Shepherd Blue helps you optimize your sleep patterns with a patent-pending biofeedback system using customized binaural beats and passive EEG measurements.”
Uh what? In short, it’s a headband that tracks your sleep patterns with an app.
Through brainwave sensors, it can detect what stages of sleep you reach. It also records your motion and movement.
For example, It records how much you toss and turn and where your head is on the pillow (if you sleep more on your left side vs. right vs. on your back).
In addition to tracking your movements, it has thin speakers that emit special tones (called binaural beats) to help train your brain into a deeper sleep.
In the morning, the Sleep Shepherd Blue reverses the frequencies and gently wakes you up. You can learn about binaural beats in this short video:
Want to get in line for one? It’s currently undergoing a kickstarter campaign, and it appears that many want to see it come to fruition.
As of today, the Sleep Shepherd Blue has surpassed its $25,000.00 goal with over $136,000 in pledges.