The president and cofounder of National Sleep Therapy (NST) recently “put his head where his pillow is”—testing a few new products on behalf of customers seeking a better night’s sleep.
Twenty-four people with sleep apnea from 11 states joined NST’s Eric Cohen in a fun and informative discussion about new apps designed to help people get more z’s. Participants from as far as Virginia, North Carolina, and Illinois joined in the December edition of “CPAP Talk — Live!”—a free monthly virtual support group sponsored by NST.
A highlight of the session was Cohen’s personal review of new sleep therapy apps. He used the Sleep Cycle app for 4 nights: “While you sleep, it measures body movement and tells what stages of sleep you’re in. It really seemed to reflect how I felt I was sleeping. In the morning, it wakes you gently when you’re in your shallowest sleep. If you’re having trouble sleeping or falling asleep, the app may identify when you’re having trouble—and that might help lead to solutions,” Cohen says in a release.
The second app Cohen tried is Relax and Sleep Well—recordings by hypnotherapists. “I listened to his voice telling me to think of a quiet place, to hear the waves crashing, to let the day go.” Cohen found it distracting but admits he fell asleep before the recording ended. He also used both of these apps together with mixed results. A follow-up e-mail was sent to app participants with a complete review and with links to these apps if they wanted to try them as well.
He discussed a new product, the S+ by ResMed, which monitors sleeping patterns. It uses radio waves to sense motion and breathing patterns plus body positions. The product was not available for testing but Cohen promised to try it and report during the next CPAP Talk — Live! session on January 7. The group also discussed SoClean, a product that destroys bacteria, viruses, and mold in the CPAP device and all parts at once. As always, the session featured questions from callers or submitted via e-mail, which Cohen or guest experts addressed.
CPAP Talk – Live! is free and open to anyone with sleep apnea and who needs encouragement, support, or information. Sessions are held on the first Wednesday of each month from 7 to 8 pm (Eastern time).
