Do You Really Need A Sleep Trainer?

Yes, Clock Fans, we’re here today to tell you about a new kind of alarm clock called the Zeo Personal Sleep Trainer.

Here is a quote from the Zeo website in which they describe, in their own words, what the Zeo product is all about:

Developed with leading sleep scientists, Zeo is a new kind of educational tool and motivational program that helps you understand how you are sleeping, reveals habits and behaviors that may be helping or hindering your sleep, and teaches new ways that may help you get a better night’s rest.

Motivational program? Does this mean Tony Roberts will show up in my bedroom, because that would motivate me…to get the hell out of there in a hurry.

And what’s up with the dorky headband?!

Well, the idea behind Zeo seems to be that the sensors in the headband track electrical signals in your brain and send them wirelessly to the Zeo alarm clock device (E.T. phone home!).

Personally, I find the idea of having anything electronic strapped to my skull while I sleep simply abhorrent, but maybe I’m just funny that way.

The data from your brain is then collected on a removable SD memory card which should be inserted beforehand into the Zeo alarm clock. When you wake up the next day, you can see detailed statistics showing how long and how well you’ve slept the night before.

Zeo has even developed their own measurement for your personal sleep score (or measurement of how long you’ve slept) which they call your “ZQ”.

We can already hear the new pick-up lines in singles’ bar, “Hey, baby – what’y your ZQ? I have a 27.” (Well – probably not.)

The SD Memory card containing your sleep data can then be taken to your computer and uploaded to your own personal sleep database on the Zeo website.

Zeo claims to be able, with the data collected from your sleep patterns, to help train you to sleep better, so you’ll wake up more refreshed each morning. But let’s check out Zeo’s own promotional marketing video for more details:

At a proud price of $349.00, Zeo is apparently designed for a niche market – and this is even a “reduced” price! We’ve seen other blogs mentioning Zeo quoting a standard price of $399.00 for their sleep trainer device.

What does Online Clock think of the Zeo Sleep Trainer?

Well, we’d like to keep an open mind, especially since we haven’t actually tested the device yet (and at that high a price, we probably won’t be going out and buying one of these any time soon!).

But frankly, our first reaction is: what a bunch of weird scientific geekery when it comes to sleeping!

Would you really like to strap on a rubber or plastic headband before going to sleep, and would you really want this contraption sending some kind of electronic signals from your brain to another device in your house? For us, this would be just too damn weird.

And the fact that you can then remove the chip and upload your sleep data to the manufacturer’s website…seems to also be very strange…We wonder who actually has the time to do such a thing? Perhaps if you’re already retired…but then you surely have enough time to take naps during the day anyway, to compensate for a poor night’s sleep?!

Certainly, if you do suffer from chronic sleep disorders, you might be willing to do this in the hope of getting better. But for such cases, I think a scientific and professional sleep laboratory would be more highly recommended – as long as it’s covered by your health insurance plan.

We’ve read reports that the Zeo Sleep Trainer was developed with a budget of 14 million dollars over a period of five years, so excuse us if the tone of this review is skeptical – but for such a big budget and a long development period, the Zeo seems a tad underwhelming.

If the Zeo truly IS helping a lot of people better “train” their sleeping habits so that they sleep better and are healthier, then that’s obviously a very good thing.

And if you suffer from some kind of chronic sleep deprivation and have the bucks to shell out for it, perhaps you should give Zeo a try.

You can find out more about the Zeo Sleep Trainer on the Zeo website.

Tags: Crazy Alarm Clocks, Crazy Clocks, sleep coach, sleep program, sleep trainer, zeo, zeo alarm clock, zeo alarm clock review, zeo sleep coach, zeo sleep trainer, zeo sleep training

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