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Insufficient sleep is common and that’s not a good thing. According to the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) as many as one in four people in the U.S. report that they don’t get enough sleep and approximately 10% have chronic insomnia. We have previously written about new Health Tech devices designed to assist with sleep, including the Hush Smart Ear Plugs, Acoustic Sheep’s SleepPhones, and Kokoon Technology’s‘ sleep-sensing headphones. Sheep Shepherd is raising the ante in Health Tech sleep aids with Sleep Shepherd Blue.

The technology in Sleep Shepherd Blue includes EEG sensors to track brainwaves. It also has a 3-axis accelerometer to detect motion and head orientation. A binaural beat audio signal helps promote sleep; research shows that two acoustic tones of different frequencies played in two ears can help subjects sleep. The difference in frequency of the two tones establishes a third perceived sound, called the binaural beat, which can directly affect the listener’s brainwaves and promote a natural sleep state, according to the company. The EEG sensors turn off the sound when the person falls asleep but will automatically start again if the person’s brainwaves indicate that they are waking up.

The smart alarm clock feature uses binaural beats to gradually wake you up. You set the alarm clock via a smartphone app. The smartphone app also records and reports on sleep quality with detailed statistics, daily trends, an overall sleep summary, brain activity, and head orientation.

Stimulating our brains with sound may hold the key to more restful nights for many people.