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Great feedback Al, and you hit the nail right on the head "what am I going to do with this information", though, tbh, for many people the data from their sleep

Great feedback Al, and you hit the nail right on the head "what am I going to do with this information", though, tbh, for many people the data from their sleep tracker leaves them with the same question... "so I didn't get enough deep sleep, what can I do about that". We have developed a headband that monitors sleep in real-time and increases restorative function. So less of a "what can I change", we ensure the sleep you get is as restorative as possible. My next post (I think) is going to be about sleep hygiene, and where the current "rules" fit in. The gist of my thinking here is that sleep hygiene rules don't define how restorative your sleep will be any more than your warm-up defines how good your workout will be. The current thinking around wind-down periods, diet recommendations, etc is the same as a warm-up or fueling yourself for a workout. We're focused on the workout itself. What makes sleep actually restorative. Does that make sense? I've also struggled with sleep my entire life, which is how I got into this space. I'm sorry the article let you down, but I completely get what you're saying. I had the same concerns before I published it, "am I really saying anything", but I think it's important for us to open this conversation, even though we don't have a solution for YET! We're close, and part of this is to understand who our tribe are, who's looking for this solution, or are we off the mark with the language. When I speak to many people about what we do, I often hear back "oh, you help people fall asleep", or "you make people get more sleep", it's REALLY hard to get people out of the mentality that more sleep means better sleep.

al_borland 1y ago
I also find the elaborate wind down routines to be overdone, and most of the ones online seem very performative. Though I do think general lifestyle (diet, activity, etc) likely play a large role and could be looked at through the lens of sleep hygiene. How is the headband going to increase restorative sleep? Is it expected to compensate for lifestyle issues that could be leading to many issues that people have? You mention you don’t have the solution yet, is the headband more of a hypothesis at this point?
- pedalpete 1y ago
  Sorry I wasn't clear, it's not a hypothesis, we have based our technology on over a decade and 50+ papers of peer-reviewed published research, and our tech is currently being used in clinical trials. We link to some of the research on our website, though there is lots more, I'll be redoing the website prior to opening pre-sales, and providing more of the research links there. When I said "I don't have the solution yet", I meant, we are not for sale in the market yet, so I don't have anything that can help you today. If you're suggesting "lifestyle issues" are things like, "I've got young children, and the demands of parenthood disrupt my sleep", or "I'm over 40 and my sleep quality just isn't what it used to be", then yes, this is where our capabilities shine. There is currently an issue with our capabilities in the shift-work population, but we may be able to address that prior to launch. I like to consider these "sleep issues related to lifestyle", than "lifestyle issues". Is that the sort of thing you were thinking of? One of the reasons we need to speak of "restorative function" rather than "sleep quality" is that in sleep medicine they refer to sleep quality based on time metrics. On the sleep hygiene side of things, I don't want to suggest that sleep hygiene isn't important. I used to hate it and think it was over-stated, and I think it is, when you talk about restorative function. However, if you can't get to sleep, you don't have the opportunity for restorative function. Sleep hygiene is the bus that takes you to the gym, it's not the workout.
  - Nevermark 1y ago
    On the linked page and here you are very wordy about existing advice not being the right way to think about things. You could use far fewer words by just explaining what you know and are doing explicitly instead of obliquely. People don’t need to “think differently”, they just need to know what you are doing and why in non-abstract terms. I don’t know if this is a writing habit issue or a staged reveal issue, but I suggest just being direct. > Sleep hygiene is the bus that takes you to the gym, it's not the workout. What am I supposed to do with stuff like this? Nobody would disagree. All the abstract and indirect communication isn’t necessary. It’s just fluff. (IMHO) However, like millions of other, I am very glad to hear of any activity like yours to find other ways to address sleep issues. I wish you great success.
    - 1y ago

al_borland 1y ago

I also find the elaborate wind down routines to be overdone, and most of the ones online seem very performative. Though I do think general lifestyle (diet, activity, etc) likely play a large role and could be looked at through the lens of sleep hygiene. How is the headband going to increase restorative sleep? Is it expected to compensate for lifestyle issues that could be leading to many issues that people have? You mention you don’t have the solution yet, is the headband more of a hypothesis at this point?

pedalpete 1y ago
Sorry I wasn't clear, it's not a hypothesis, we have based our technology on over a decade and 50+ papers of peer-reviewed published research, and our tech is currently being used in clinical trials. We link to some of the research on our website, though there is lots more, I'll be redoing the website prior to opening pre-sales, and providing more of the research links there. When I said "I don't have the solution yet", I meant, we are not for sale in the market yet, so I don't have anything that can help you today. If you're suggesting "lifestyle issues" are things like, "I've got young children, and the demands of parenthood disrupt my sleep", or "I'm over 40 and my sleep quality just isn't what it used to be", then yes, this is where our capabilities shine. There is currently an issue with our capabilities in the shift-work population, but we may be able to address that prior to launch. I like to consider these "sleep issues related to lifestyle", than "lifestyle issues". Is that the sort of thing you were thinking of? One of the reasons we need to speak of "restorative function" rather than "sleep quality" is that in sleep medicine they refer to sleep quality based on time metrics. On the sleep hygiene side of things, I don't want to suggest that sleep hygiene isn't important. I used to hate it and think it was over-stated, and I think it is, when you talk about restorative function. However, if you can't get to sleep, you don't have the opportunity for restorative function. Sleep hygiene is the bus that takes you to the gym, it's not the workout.
- Nevermark 1y ago
  On the linked page and here you are very wordy about existing advice not being the right way to think about things. You could use far fewer words by just explaining what you know and are doing explicitly instead of obliquely. People don’t need to “think differently”, they just need to know what you are doing and why in non-abstract terms. I don’t know if this is a writing habit issue or a staged reveal issue, but I suggest just being direct. > Sleep hygiene is the bus that takes you to the gym, it's not the workout. What am I supposed to do with stuff like this? Nobody would disagree. All the abstract and indirect communication isn’t necessary. It’s just fluff. (IMHO) However, like millions of other, I am very glad to hear of any activity like yours to find other ways to address sleep issues. I wish you great success.
  - 1y ago