New Study Shows Melatonin May Be Related To Heart Failure; “Sleep Tech” Is Here To Help

Perhaps the most common and frequently used medication by consumers with sleep issues is melatonin. This week, a new study found that long-term use of melatonin may be linked to increased rates of heart failure: “A review of 5 years of health records for more than 130,000 adults with insomnia who had used melatonin for at least a year found they were more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, require hospitalization for the condition or die from any cause.”

In parallel, a recent American Academy of Sleep Medicine study explains that nearly 12% Americans indicated that they are struggling with insomnia. The Cleveland Clinic defines insomnia as when one “experiences disruptions in how [they] feel or function because [they] aren’t sleeping well or sleeping enough.” Individuals can experience long-term or short-term insomnia, and there are numerous causes for this condition. One of the most prevalent causes is stress, a factor which has markedly increased worldwide since the industrial revolution and the rise of a professional services economy globally. Stress can significantly alter sleep quality, the time it takes to fall asleep, and how “sound” an individual sleeps (the propensity to sleep without fragmentation or disturbances). For many, even without a formal diagnosis of insomnia or sleep issues, over-the-counter medications and therapeutics are often the first line defense to get better rest.

However, thankfully, the field of sleep technology is rapidly emerging with an entire ecosystem of wearables that are designed to help individuals fall and stay asleep.

Take for example Ozlo, which is a novel sleep hardware company specializing in in-ear headphones (“Sleepbuds”) designed to “block out sleep-disrupting sounds and replace the noise with anything [a user] would like to stream.” The company has made the hardware seamless to use; the headphones comfortably fit ear contours, have an extended battery life, and even include biometric sensing, which gives users the ability to customize their sleep experience. Ozlo was founded by ex-Bose engineers that wanted to solve a key problem: help people get to sleep faster and stay asleep longer. The company also announced that it will be expanding its medical advisory board to include prominent experts in the field, including: Dr. Rebecca Robbins, a sleep scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Dr. Michael Gervais, a high performance psychologist. They will be joining Dr. Meredith Broderick, MD, a world-renowned sleep neurologist.

N.B. Patil, co-founder and CEO of Ozlo, explains that the company has built an entire ecosystem beyond just a product: “we want to build this technology in partnership with content creators; we have created an SDK so that other creators can create content to understand whether the person went to sleep or stays asleep.” This concept, where external vendors can easily integrate with cutting-edge hardware, has been a growing trend in the sleep tech industry.

Take for example Calm, the app that is famous for all things related to sleep, meditation and relaxation. The company offers users a variety of programs including stories, guided meditation programs, soundscapes, and even tracking to help users experience improved sleep and relaxation. Another great example is Headspace, which has become famous for its holistic approach using guided meditation and user-developed sessions.

But the ultimate value for users is a combination of both hardware and software modalities. This is why partnerships like the one between Calm and Ozlo are important: they provide users with the opportunity to combine biometric sleep detection hardware alongside proven audio content to help foster a better experience. Ozlo is especially unique in that it is meant to be used primarily for sleep; as Patil describes, “we did not want to create just another set of headphones that people could also use to work; the point of this is to help people wind down and sleep, and this product is focused solely on that.”

Other hardware-only modalities have also emerged; for example, Oura has made huge inroads into the sleep market recently with its latest ring, giving people the opportunity to learn about their sleep habits and track better metrics.

Why is all of this important? Because insomnia, and the lack of sleep in general, is a growing epidemic, globally. Lack of sleep can lead to significant long-term healthcare issues, ranging from cardiac and metabolic diseases to chronic illnesses. Thus, the time for sleep tech to emerge has never been more apt.