Neurotech Company Rythm Launches Dreem, A Completely New Category of Product That Enhances Sleep

SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rythm, a neurotechnology startup, announced the official launch of Dreem today, a pioneering sleep solution that monitors, analyzes, and acts on your brain to enhance your sleep. Dreem represents a completely new category of product that merges cutting edge neuroscience research and disruptive technology to push the understanding and enhancement of sleep forward. The headband monitors brain activity and uses auditory stimulation as a medium to help fall asleep faster, get deeper sleep, and wake up refreshed. After 3 years of development and tests, Dreem is now available for pre-order at https://dreem.com/.

One-third of the population does not sleep well or sufficiently, and this can manifest in multiple ways, including non-restorative sleep, difficulties falling asleep, waking up at night, and waking up at the wrong time. There are many intersecting causes behind these challenges — stress, environment, physical issues, lifestyle, not sleeping well, and that manifest in multiple ways: non-restorative sleep, difficulties to fall asleep, waking up at night, waking up not at the right time, bad hygiene or habits during the day. Currently, there are no obvious solutions to this epidemic. Existing solutions, like sleeping pills, are invasive and not good for health. Other solutions that are less invasive, like wearables, are inaccurate and do nothing to improve the quality of sleep. Dreem is a completely new kind of product that merges the latest innovations in neuroscience research and advanced technology to create an effective, non-invasive sleep solution that works through the night and during the day to help you sleep better.

"Rythm started with one single idea — to monitor and influence brain activity based on auditory stimulation to enhance sleep quality," said Hugo Mercier, CEO & Co-founder at Rythm. "Now after our successful beta program, we have validated the science and learned from more than 500 users on what the headband can do. The launch of Dreem is a breakthrough moment and we are thrilled to get our product to consumers so they can get on the path to better sleep."

The Dreem Headband
Dreem takes highly complex technology and puts it into a miniaturized, comfortable, and autonomous headband, replicating the sophistication and accuracy of lab equipment in the bedroom. Using dry polymer EEG electrodes, Dreem accurately monitors brain activity during sleep and independently analyzes it on an internal CPU. The front of the device incorporates a bone-conduction technology, which emits subtle, precise sounds directly into your inner ear to improve sleep. This way you can hear the sounds without the hassle of using headphones while you're sleeping. Beyond enhancing brain activity to boost deep sleep, Dreem provides accurate, in-depth analyses of users' sleep patterns, providing tangible suggestions on how they can improve their sleep.

Dreem was designed in collaboration with fuseproject, an award-winning design studio led by internationally acclaimed designer Yves Behar. The most important element of its design is its wearability -- allowing users to sleep comfortably, while holding the brain monitoring sensors directly against the right points around the head, as well as the containment of the complex internal technology. Through hundreds of iterations, the final Dreem design keeps the internals on the top of the head where there is no pressure during sleep, and the sensors lie in the flexible fabric band that comfortably wraps around the head.  

Aesthetically, Dreem is designed to feel like loungewear. The fabric comes in soft, neutral colors, looking more like apparel than traditional wearable tech, and is removable for easy cleaning. Foam inserts keep the headband soft and comfortable, with just the right amount of elasticity in each section to ensure it works effectively without feeling uncomfortable. It also includes a touchbar on the headband so the user doesn't need to turn their phone on if they are already in bed, although all the device's settings can be changed in the app.

The Benefits
Dreem is a complete platform to improve sleep. It comes with a number of key features that go above and beyond other sleep products to help you sleep better.

Fall Asleep Faster: Dreem's Words feature uses scientifically proven mental and breathing techniques to significantly accelerate the process of falling asleep. The Air setting addresses sleeplessness by synchronizing the user's heart rate and breathing frequency to bring them down to levels conducive to sleep. Finally, the headband also aids falling asleep with a meditation-based feature called Flow. Early tests with users show decrease in sleep onset by up to 30%.

Get Deeper Sleep: One of the key benefits of using Dreem is its ability to enhance the quality of your deep sleep or slow-wave sleep. As one of the most restorative stages of sleep, deep sleep is responsible for key physiological functions like hormone regulation, cellular regeneration, and memory consolidation. With sound stimulation that synchronizes with your brain activity, Dreem enhances the quality of your deep sleep by up to 31%.

Wake Up Refreshed: Dreem also ensures you wake up refreshed. Waking up too early or abruptly during one of the deeper stages of your sleep is disruptive to a good night's rest. With an alarm clock that is personalized to wake you during the lighter stages of your sleep, you'll be awake refreshed and alert at the optimal stage during your sleep. This is only possible because of the headband's ability to monitor sleep accurately.

Once you are awake, you can go to the Dreem app to explore the landscape of your night's sleep. Based on clinical grade accuracy of the headband, you'll get actionable and personalized insights that were developed by leading sleep experts. These insights evolve constantly because of our machine learning algorithms that learn about your daily activities and sleep habits. Everything is optimized so you can improve your sleep throughout the day. The Dreem App is divided into multiple categories, with easy-to-understand metrics and visuals to make sense of the data.

"Everybody can benefit from better sleep and we wanted to launch a product that could work for anyone, regardless of their issue," said Mercier. "Our goal was to launch a complete, comprehensive solution with multiple features so that it can help as many people as possible. We know with Dreem we have a long journey ahead. With the announcement of Dreem we've achieved a major milestone towards that goal."

Rythm also announced today that it has raised a total of $22 million from billionaire French entrepreneur Xavier Niel, entrepreneur and biotech investor Dr. Laurent Alexandre, and one of the top French insurance leaders -- MAIF. In addition, Dreem was built with the support of Rythm's prestigious scientific advisory board, including internationally recognized scientists from the fields of sleep research, neuroscience and mathematics, who have helped guide the company's development and success. Board members include: David Eagleman, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience, Stanford University, Founder & CSO, BrainCheck, and cofounder & CSO, NeoSensory; Christof Koch, PhD, CSO & President of Allen Institute for Brain Science; Emmanuel Mignot, MD, PhD, Director of Stanford Sleep Center; and Cedric Villani, PhD, winner of the 2010 Fields Medal and Director of Henri Poincarré Institute.

"Rythm has developed technology that has the potential to change how people perceive their sleep, while also giving users new tools to improve their well-being," said Rythm scientific advisory board member Emmanuel Mignot, the Director of the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine. "The vision of the company and the team behind Dreem is exceptional. To have a solution like Dreem that makes sophisticated medicine accessible to anyone represents a powerful step forward."

Dreem costs $499/499€ and is now available for preorders at https://dreem.com/. Those who order in the first 30 days will receive an early bird price of $399/€399 with shipping included until July 15. The products will ship to customers in the Fall.

About Rythm:
Rythm is a leading neurotechnology company. Bringing together the world's foremost experts in hardware, software, and neuroscience, Rythm builds consumer technology that stimulates brain function to enhance individual health and performance. The company's first product, Dreem, is sleep solution that uses brain activity and sound stimulation to increase the quality of sleep in a non-invasive way. Based in Paris and San Francisco, Rythm has raised substantial funding from investors, awards and government grants to support a world-class team of more than 70 people. For more information, visit www.dreem.com.

SOURCE Rythm