French-American startup Dreem (previously known as Rythm) is ramping up the abilities of its sleep tracking headband by using that data to tackle a host of sleep-related problems.
It's doing that with the new Dreem Coach app that's available to download now for iOS and Android phones. The app harnesses the physiological data recorded by the Dreem Band and then uses that data to build detailed sleep reports offering recommendations based on your data.
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In addition to the recommendations, there's also a collection of expert programs available within the app to help make improvements to your sleep quality. These programs are designed to tackle a variety of sleep-related problems including chronic insomnia, anxiety and sleep deprivation offering tips and personalised exercises to help address these issues.
Dreem claims the app's new advanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy functionality can help address a host of psychological and behavioral factors that can affect sleep health. The CBT program was developed with experts in the field to provide progressive sleep assistance for those suffering from insomnia, improving sleep efficiency in just six to eight weeks.
“After examining data from hundreds of users who suffer from chronic sleep disorders, we recognized the need to address a critical dimension of bad sleep: psychological and behavioral triggers,” said Pierrick Arnal, scientific director of Dreem. “This is why we developed Dreem Coach and the Program Library - to give our users an expert companion on their journey to better sleep. With options like the CBT Program, we are integrating the most effective behavioral tools available to solve insomnia and create healthier habits around sleep.”
Dreem's ambitions to help improve our sleep started back in 2014. The startup launched its Dreem Band in the summer last year. The band uses multiple sensors including EEG sensors, a pulse oximeter and an accelerometer to track brain activity, heart rate, respiration rate and movement during your bed time. It conducted a beta program to make tweaks and adjustments to both the hardware and the software before the $499 wearable was ready to go on sale.
Making sleep tracking and monitoring a personal experience is something we can definitely get on board with. If Dreem really can go a long way to tackling serious sleep disorders, then it would go a long way to justifying paying out big bucks for a wearable that goes way beyond the sleep tracking skills of a Fitbit or a Garmin.
How we test
By Michael Sawh
Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.
He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.
Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech.
Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.