NextSense has launched a pair of wireless earbuds, called Smartbuds, that measure real-time electrical activity in the brain and respond with audio stimulation to guide users into deeper sleep.
“Sleep shapes how we show up in the world. Yet for too long, technology has treated it like a score to track instead of a state to support,” said NextSense CEO and founder Jonathan Berent. We built Smartbuds to give people what they actually want and need: better rest.”
Smartbuds use six electroencephalography (EEG) sensors to measure the brain’s electrical activity and detect when users are in light sleep, deep sleep or drifting away; differing from other sleep tracking wearables that use motion or heart rate.
As the user falls deeper into sleep, the brain produces slower, low-frequency energy bursts, called brain waves. These slow waves are observed during deep sleep when the body enters a restorative state often tied with recovery, memory consolidation and next-day alertness.
Smartbuds was designed to help users stay in deep sleep longer. The earbuds deliver precisely timed sound frequencies, called soft pink noise, that nudge the brain’s waves into a restorative rhythm, strengthening deep sleep.
The earbuds learn individual sleep patterns over time, giving users a personalized experience based on their own neural rhythms.
In beta testing data released in today’s statement, Smartbuds were shown to increase slow-wave activity with almost 50% of users reporting having “better” or “much better” sleep with improved morning recovery.
About 50 to 70 million Americans live with sleep or wakefulness disorders, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Poor sleep is often linked to cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, depression, anxiety, cognitive declines and reduced daily performance.
