At first I would like to thank Zeo for offering a sample of their Bedside Sleep Management System for testing and reviewing.

 

 

About Zeo, Inc:

 

“Zeo Inc., headquartered in Newton, Mass., is a leading innovator in connected wellness movement, where personal sensors, wireless technology and smartphones are giving consumers the ability to take better care of their own health. Beginning with the introduction of the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach in June 2009, Zeo has grown into the leading sleep management company in the U.S. The Company’s mission is to help people discover new, science-based ways to lead more an active and healthy lifestyle by taking control of the awesome and restorative power of sleep.

 

We are an enthusiastic, hard working group of innovators, world class scientific advisers and seasoned business executives, all passionately committed to educating and enlightening consumers about their new ability to help themselves get a better night's sleep. The dedicated Zeo team is comprised of experts in engineering, sleep science and sleep education, neuroscience, behavioral psychology, consumer healthcare, consumer electronics, and information technology.

 

In 2010, Zeo won the Triple Tree Award for Best Consumer Experiences in Wireless Life Sciences as well as the prestigious Edison Award for Best New Product, presented by the Discovery Channel.”

 

Zeo Inc. is a company with a serious mission and that is to help people discover scientifically-based ways to improve the quality of their lives through the power of sleep. The founders were some students which looked for a way to fight grogginess and have discovered that the stage of sleep from which a person awakens has a very big influence on how that person feels in the morning.

 

People when sleep are passing through multiple phases: stages 1,2,3,4 and REM.

 

Stage 1 sleep is also called "light sleep"; at this time people are usually experiencing drifting in and out of sleep, are easy to wake up and the eye, body movements slow down. Sudden jerky movement of the legs and other muscles is also expected during this stage.

 

During sleep, about 50% of the time we spend in Stage 2. During the Stage 2 sleep, eye movement stops and our brain waves become slower. During this time, there may be also brief bursts of rapid brain activity called sleep spindles.

 

Stage 3 is called the first stage of deep sleep. During this time, it would be very difficult to wake someone up and if for some reason we are woken up, we'll most likely feel groggy and disoriented for many minutes.

 

Stage 4 is the secondary stage of deep sleep, also difficult to wake up from. These two stages of deep sleep are very important and depending on their length we may or may not feel refreshed in the morning (if the deep sleep stages are too short, the sleep will not feel satisfying).

 

REM (rapid eye movement) sleep stage is the one when dreaming occurs; when we enter this sleep stage, our breathing becomes faster, more irregular. Also, our eyes will move rapidly and the muscles become paralyzed, heart rate and blood pressure increases. Toward morning, the time which is spent in REM increases and the one in deep sleep decreases.

 

Zeo has developed two solutions through which we can study our sleep stages and understand how we really sleep, reveal which factors may help or hinder our sleep and also provide personalized guidance to help us improve our sleep. One of them is the Zeo Bedside and consists of the Zeo headband, bedside display and a SD card/reader to upload our data online. The second one is Zeo Mobile, which also consists of the Zeo headband, charge dock and a smartphone app. The headbands from the two solutions are not interchangeable since they function on different technologies to transfer data.

 

As we have described in the first paragraph, one way to lessen the impact of sleep grogginess or sleep inertia would be to wake up at the right time in our sleep phase. Zeo measures carefully the brain activity and can accurately detect when the deep sleep stages occur; this way it can avoid rousing when we will be most groggy. While the deep sleep stages primarily occur during the first half of the night, the people which are sleep deprived have these stages shifted near their wakeup time.

 

It seems that the best moment to wake up is the transition between REM and light sleep. This transition point has been chosen for avoiding the deeper portions of non-REM sleep as well as the middle of REM sleep where we could be jolted from and involved dream.

 

Zeo also tells us that in addition to measuring brainwaves, the included sensors on the headband also pay attention to eye movements and muscle tone, which help optimizing further the actual waking point. By using these factors, the SmartWake algorithm can find the right time to awaken us during the half-hour window, not later, before we set the alarm time.

 

The Zeo Bedside Sleep Management System comes packed inside a medium-sized cardboard box, with a lot of information printed on the outside; one of the sides shows a photo of the main unit, along with an example chart in the background:

 

 

 

With the device we can find what our “sleep stealers” are and improve over time by eliminating them:

 

 

 

Zeo also explains that this device tracks our sleep patterns so we’ll discover how much restorative sleep we really get. The tested and proven Zeo SoftWave headband is the second component of the system and transmits wirelessly data to the bedside unit during the night. In the morning, we should see the graph fully built on the display and Zeo will also calculate an overall sleep score that we can compare over time:

 

 

 

Other product features are also shown on the outside packaging:

 

 

 

After opening up the box, we will see the documentation on the first layer:

 

 

 

If we remove the documents, we will also uncover the Zeo Support phone number and website address:

 

 

 

On one of the supplied leaflets, we will find instructions on how to create the free myZeo.com account for accessing even more useful resources:

 

 

 

 

A secondary leaflet comes with product and regulatory compliance information:

 

 

 

Inside the User’s Guide we will find information like package contents, bedside unit button functions, installation, alarm setup, headband tips and more:

 

 

 

A Sleep Wheel is also included, which shows a reference of typical sleep data:

 

 

 

 

The Zeo bedside unit is kept fixed inside a cardboard frame, to avoid scratches or other damages during transport:

 

 

 

After it has been unpacked, we’ll see that it has a very modern, curved look and does not take a lot of space on our bedside table:

 

 

 

All buttons are located on the top and their functions are explained again on the frontal side, so we do not have to search each time for the manual if we want to modify something (good especially for people that have just bought the product):

 

 

 

In the back we’ll find the dock golden contacts, where the headband needs to stay when recharging:

 

 

 

Turning the unit upside down will reveal 4 small rubber feet:

 

 

 

A DC-IN connector is located right in the middle:

 

 

 

Also in the back we will find the product code name and the power rating:

 

 

 

When looking from the right side, we’ll see some ventilation holes:

 

 

 

The left has a similar design, but with one exception: the SD card, which is already inserted into the reader:

 

 

 

The SD card that has been delivered with the product is 2GB, class 2 and manufactured by Sandisk:

 

 

 

With the bedside unit we will also receive the headband along with the wireless transmitter, the power adapter and an USB card reader:

 

 

 

The wireless transmitter contains a rechargeable battery; on the back side we will find the contacts where the headband gets installed:

 

 

 

 

The transmitter also contains the golden contacts for recharging into the bedside unit dock:

 

 

 

The supplied card reader comes in handy when we do not have a laptop with card reader available; the reader also has an activity LED on the front:

 

 

 

 

The power adapter has on the output the same values as we have seen on the bottom of the bedside unit (5V, 500mA):

 

 

 

The Zeo headband is fully adjustable, for a perfect comfortable fit; on the front it comes with the three contacts for the Wi-Fi transmitter installation:

 

 

 

 

On the back of the headband we will find three grey pads, with a silver highly conductive coating, which will pick up signals while you sleep:

 

 

 

We have to slide the two soft fabric tubes above the ears for providing extra comfort:

 

 

 

 

Here is how the headband does look with the transmitter attached:

 

 

 

The display of the Bedside Sleep Manager is big enough and easy to read; when powering up the device, we will be first asked to set the time, date and alarm; the battery indicator will show us the charging status of the headband wireless transmitter and on the bottom we will see the last night sleep graph. If the device is started up for the first time, no graph will be shown:

 

 

 

If the headband is picked up from the dock, it will start communicating with the base station (bedside unit) and will show this action via a pictogram near the alarm hour that we have set:

 

 

After the headband has been attached, the pictogram will change, telling us that everything is fine and the logging has started:

 

 

After a full night sleep we will be asked to assign a number regarding how we feel after we have woken up; Zeo will then calculate the so called ZQ number, which represents the sleep quality number judging the recorded data during the night:

 

 

This is obviously not all; with the buttons on the top side of the unit, we can browse through the results in detail that have been recorded during the night:

 

Total Sleep Time (total Z) -> Zeo is tracking how long we have really slept during the night.

Time to Fall Asleep (time to Z) -> this is self explanatory and it tracks how long took us to fall asleep

Times Woken -> another interesting feature of the Zeo, this lets us know how many times we have woken up during the night. Zeo defines these wake-ups as disruptions that last two minutes or more

Percentage in each phase -> in this mode we will be able to see the percentage we spent in each sleep phase

Time in Wake -> Zeo tracks the time when we were awake when we should be sleeping

Time in REM -> obviously, in this mode Zeo will show how much time we have spent in Rapid Eye Movement phase

Time in Light -> this mode tracks the time in Light sleep phase, which typically accounts for the majority of the night

Time in Deep -> this mode tracks the time in Deep sleep phase, important for feeling restored and refreshed during the day

 

The device also allows us to see the results recorded during a full week and automatically calculates averages.

 

The Zeo bedside unit gives the user the possibility to select one of the preloaded alarm songs (our most favorite was “forest”), to select the Snooze time, the wake mode (SmartWake or Standard), the wake window, see the headband life remaining, erase the inserted SD card, erase only the sleep data, see the software version, turn off the wireless of the headband, or reset to factory settings.

The available alarms are: daybreak, meadow, sunrise, forest, and duo. All tones are designed specifically for the Zeo to wake us gently by increasing the volume.

 

The wake window represents the time before the alarm in which we allow the Zeo Bedside to search for a “natural awakening point”, which is a moment when it is easier to get out of bed and we would feel more refreshed.

 

The headband life represents the recommended usage time for the current sensor and we will be reminded when the period expires; when we install a new headband, we have the possibility to reset the counter right from the interface.

 

The Zeo Bedside unit firmware can be also upgraded if we put the appropriate file onto the SD card and it will only take some seconds for the procedure to complete.

 

The data Zeo Bedside unit collects is also saved on the SD card and from it we can upload the data online, more precisely to the myZeo Personal Sleep Coach website (mysleep.myzeo.com). To be able to access the service, we will have to create a user and a password. The interface of the service is split into multiple tabs like “Home”, “Your Sleep”, “Coaching” and “New Tools” (currently in a beta state); a small graph of the 7-night ZQ values can be seen inside the Home tab:

 

 

 

By moving the mouse cursor over one of the ZQ values, we will see some data in detail:

 

 

 

The “Your Sleep” tab is more complex and has 5 sub-functions:

 

 

 

ZQ Breakdown section shows us how the length, depth and continuity of sleep affect our ZQ:

 

 

 

My Sleep History allows us to see the ZQ and other sleep data on a night-by-night basis, or check out the weekly or monthly averages:

 

 

 

The Sleep Graph section shows the same graph as we have seen displayed on the Bedside unit, but this time in a better representation, with different colors and explanations:

 

 

 

Trends section shows, depending on the journal entries, how our daily activities are affecting our sleep health over time:

 

 

 

Finally, the Cause and Effect section allows us to see correlations between our Sleep Stealers, Sleep Journal data and nightly sleep data:

 

 

 

The 7 Step Sleep Fitness Program is a guided self-discovery process for your sleep. This personalized sleep coaching program asks you to set goals for your sleep and then provides you with customized strategies to help you to achieve these goals. In addition, you can learn more about the latest sleep research, and receive recommendations on how to track the items that are most beneficial for you:

 

 

 

Some new items have been added inside the New Tools Beta section, like Weekly Sleep Report and Nightly Sleep Report, which will open in a separate window:

 

 

 

The Zeo Bedside Sleep Manager helps us find out what are our “sleep stealers” and to study our sleep phases in detail, right at home, without the need to attend a sleep study. The information is picked up during our night sleep by silverized sensors found on the back of the supplied headband and transmitted wirelessly to the base station, where it is analyzed and displayed right on the screen.

 

By just pressing the units’ buttons, we can see a lot of statistics during one day or a 7-day period. The data is also stored on a SD card, also supplied, that we can use to upload the sleep data to the myZeo website. The myZeo Personal Sleep Coach service can be accessed by creating a new user with password and after the data has been updated, we can see a lot of extra information based on our night sleep like ZQ Breakdown, Sleep History, Trends, Cause and Effect and many more. It would be great if Zeo will also develop a non-flash alternative web interface in the future, so iOS users could access it though the browser too.

 

The services do not stop here: Zeo has also made available apps for both iOS and Android mobile devices; however, we still need to see an iOS app for the iPad, with the same functions as the one for the iPhone.

 

If our headband is not properly installed, it may change its position many times during the night on our forehead and we’ll see some discontinuations in the recorded data graph; if the data collected is not enough during a full night sleep, we may receive a message on the bedside unit screen and we will not be able to upload the data onto the website.

 

The data stored on the SD card is encrypted with the initial firmware, so viewing offline with other tools is not possible; Zeo has also uploaded a modified firmware on their website which produces data files no longer locked. With the ZeoDecoderViewer utility, we can open up the data file created on the SD card and analyze the results offline, even from days with incomplete results.

 

The Bedside unit can be also be used like a standard alarm system, if we do not enable the “SmartWake” option, which would wake us up at an optimal moment during our sleep.

 

The headband does not last forever, but it should perform optimally for about 3 month’s time; considering the advantages of the system, the replacement is not very expensive.

 

The Personal Sleep Manager kit can be found on the Zeo website for about £139.00 and the replacement headbands can be found in two variants: one piece for £17.95 or a kit of 3 for about £43.99.

 

Zeo Personal Sleep Manager Recommended For:

 

 

 

I would like to thank again to Zeo for making this review possible!