Whether it’s the Sense by Hello, the Gravity blanket, the ZEEQ Smart Pillow, or Kello Labs’ smart alarm clock, tech startups have begun designing prototypes focused on improving everyone’s sleeping patterns. The latest: Sana Health’s smart sleep goggles. With a promise of a restful night’s sleep after ten minutes, Sana’s state-of-the-art device uses audio-visual stimulation to induce deep states of relaxation.

Audio-Visual Stimulation

Designed to combat insomnia, the Sana smart goggles mirror your brain’s trigger patterns right before it’s about to fall asleep – making the transition from awake to deep REM cycle seamless one. CEO and Founder Richard Hanbury describes how his innovative sleep mask works:

“It uses audio-visual stimulation to trigger specific patterns in the brain. In the same way that when you go into a nightclub, and hear fast music and see strobe lights, this produces an excited state in your brain, this device produces the patterns your brain needs in order to produce deep states of relaxation.”

Sana Health’s first test subject: Bertrand Piccard – the pilot of the Solar Impulse – and his round-the-world journey on a fuel-less plane requiring system checks every 20 minutes. That meant a sleep schedule of three hours per day at pre-determined 20-minute intervals. The Sana Health Sleep Goggles worked like a charm and were instrumental in putting the pilot into a deep sleep in the shortest amount of time.

Biometric Sleep Analysis

After four uses, Sana Sleep can monitor fluctuations in the wearer’s nervous system and tailors its audio-visual stimulation technology accordingly. Resembling a VR headset wrapped in a pillowcase, this is the ideal device for anyone who considers their sleep a precious commodity. From monitoring heart rate to tracking the user’s breathing rhythms, Sana’s Goggles emit light pulses and periodic sounds in response to the wearer’s biometrics. So each light pulse is personalized depending on the user.

“Sana is based on 24 years of sleep research and has gone through extensive subject trials. While bringing continuous improvement to the experience, the company will need to now spend some time understanding which distribution channels are the most adapted for its offering,” Hanbury told TechCrunch.

FDA Approval

Currently being tested on professional athletes needing a restful night sleep while traveling to different cities, the Sana Goggles have been designed for anyone having difficulty sleeping, which is one in three Americans according to the CDC. Backed by $1.3 million in seed funding from Founders Fund, Maveron, and SOSV, the Sana Sleep Mask will be available Q2 of 2018. With an $400 MSRP and a focus on getting the FDA medical device stamp of approval, Sana Health is poised to disrupt an already competitive industry.

Source: Engadget, Techcrunch