Sana is a startup company that is currently developing a smart sleep mask. Find out everything you need to know about this upcoming product today in our review.
What is Sana?
Sana promises to give you a complete sleep “at the push of a button”. The startup company is currently developing “the world’s first truly smart sleep mask”. You place the mask on your face, press the button, then enjoy the most restful sleep possible.
Like other sleep aid systems on the market today, Sana relies on things like smart alarms that wake you up at the optimal time. Smart alarms measure your sleep patterns in order to wake you up at the perfect time of day.
The mask also claims to track your overall health and vitality over time, then uses this information to customize your Sana sleeping experience.
The end result of using Sana is that you enjoy a deep, relaxing sleep as quickly as possible.
Sana is in development by a team of engineers and designers that participated in the HAX hardware startup accelerator in Shenzhen, China.
The creators of Sana are preparing to release the device in “mid 2017”.
How Does Sana Work?
Sana is a wearable device that wraps around the front of your face, placed over your eyes. The device is charged with a micro-USB cord, then goes to work all night to help you get a restful sleep.
Sana is purportedly based on 24 years and 700+ individual trials of EEG-based research. The team behind Sana has condensed all of this information down into a single smart mask.
The smart mask doesn’t want to just help some college student fall asleep more easily at night: the mask is designed to be tough enough to handle hardcore cases of PTSD-induced insomnia, or extreme cases of chronic pain insomnia.
As we speak, Sana is undergoing clinical trials with Stanford Sleep Labs to test its effectiveness on chronic pain insomnia, and it’s undergoing additional trials with the UK military to test its effects on PTSD-related insomnia. These clinical trials are scheduled to conclude in March 2017.
Sana Features
Light & Sound Stimulation: Sana provides neuro-modulated light and sound stimulation to help guide your brain through a sequence of patterns that put you “in the very best natural sleep cycles” for a deep and natural sleep.
Heart Rate Variability Monitoring: Sana uses an HRV sensor on your forehead to monitor minor fluctuations in your nervous system, allowing Sana to tailor the audio-visual stimulation to your nervous system’s unique responses. These metrics are also used to track your overall health and wellbeing.
Essentially, Sana uses heart rate sensors to track your physiological responses, then uses that information to create a customized visual and audio presentation that helps you enter a deep sleep state.
Sana may sound like a science fiction technology from the future, but it’s actually been in development for years, and it has been tested by some major organizations around the world. At their “Research” page, for example, the company lists Sir Richard Branson, the London Stroke Association, McLaren F1, the Special Air Service, and the US Marines as research partners.
In fact, Sana has partnered with military organizations around the world. The Joint Services Intelligence Organisation, for example, tested EEG technology to enhance language learning and general skill acquisition, while the US Navy used it to increase resistance to motion sickness.
What is EEG Technology?
EEG, or electroencephalogram technology is used to monitor stages of sleep. You know how when scientists track sleep in movies or TV shows, it produces a graph of wavelengths indicating brain activity at night? That’s typically an EEG sensor tracking your brain activity.
This well-established technology allows scientists to track sleep and monitor physiological activity during sleep.
Today, you can buy EEG sleep monitors to be used in your home. Sleep clinics also typically use equipment like this to enhance sleep efficiency. Some hospitals also use EEG technology.
EEG technology is not just used to help people enjoy a more restful night’s sleep: it’s used to diagnose conditions like epilepsy. Epilepsy.org.uk reports, for example, that “your doctor might ask you to have an EEG test if you have epilepsy, or if they think you might have epilepsy.”
How Does EEG Technology Work?
How does EEG track signals from your brain? EEG technology involves placing electrodes (flat metal discs) on the sides of your head. The electrodes pick up the electrical signals from your brain, then record them on an EEG machine. The electrodes only detect electrical signals: they do not affect your brain or cause any physical sensation.
The Sana machine works using two electrodes on either end of the sleep mask, so the electrodes are placed near each ear. This tracks your brain waves as you sleep, helping you enjoy a more efficient, restful, and productive sleep.
Sana Release Date and Pricing
Pricing details have not yet been released for Sana. As mentioned above, the company is currently conducting clinical trials with the sleep mask.
If all goes according to schedule, Sana will be released in mid 2017. You can stay up-to-date on Sana and its release by signing up for an email newsletter through the official Sana.io website: Sana.io
