Sleep tech company Dreem launched the second version of its AI-enabled sleep tracking headband and companion app, Dreem 2, in the U.S. today. 

The technology includes an EEG, heart rate, respiration and movement tracker. A user’s information is then monitored and analyzed by the system for their review the next day. The headband has a companion app where the customers’ sleep data can be integrated into a seven-week sleep coaching program, which uses exercises, tools and advice. 

The headband was also designed with a biofeedback feature, which uses audio to make falling asleep and waking up easier, according to the company. Dreem is pitching this technology as an alternative to an expensive sleep clinic. 

“Usually when it comes to sleep and you are not sleeping well, you go to a GP [general practioner]. Sometimes when you need it, they will send you to a sleep clinic, but that is quite expensive and costly,” Dreem CEO Hugo Mercier told MobiHealthNews. 

The company got its start in France, but its sights are turning westward. The company announced that Dreem 2 is registered with the FDA as a Class 2 device, and Mercier said the company plans on expanding deeper into the U.S. market in the future. 

“People are more receptive in the U.S., and the product of sleep is probably more well-known in the U.S.,” Mercier said. 

He also said that the company is interested in expanding into the provider and the payer space in the future. 

“Now we are really going to give ourselves the resources to succeed on the market and our approach and invest on B2B,” he said. 

This launched comes more than a year after the company raked in $35 million in new funding. 

WHY IT MATTERS 

The CDC recommends that adults get seven or more hours of sleep per night. Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression are all linked to not getting enough sleep, according to the agency. However, only about one in three Americans get enough sleep. 

THE LARGER TREND

Tracking sleep is in vogue in the consumer space right now. Wearable giants such as Fitbit and Withings have jumped on board this trend. But the trend has extended to bedside devices such as SleepScore Max and under the mattress sensors such as Apple’s Beddit device. 

While sleep tracking is becoming more popular, an online survey conducted by NYU and published in Health Communications found that the technology is most popular among people with a higher income bracket who are healthy.