Wednesday, June 11, 2008

SLEEP Meeting 2008 Summary

I spent all day yesterday at the SLEEP 2008 national meeting in Baltimore. I  went to qualify various home testing options (I have three to choose from), but I wanted to mention in this blog a few interesting companies and products that I  saw.

Cure for Insomnia?
For people with severe insomnia, I've mentioned cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. It's been found work better than sleeping pills, and many people can stop taking these pills as well. The problem has been that it's very labor and time intensive. I was pleasantly
surprised to see an online version of CBT, developed by a Harvard insomnia researcher. Check it out here.

Elephant CPAP Mask
I was walking by a booth and I did a double take, as I thought I saw an elephant's nose. I turned around and saw this device in the picture below. It's made of a soft fabric and it allows you to sleep on your side with no rigid tubing or plastic mask to get in the way. You can find out more information or order it here
Football Helmet for Sleep Apnea?
Many people hate CPAP because they can't sleep on their stomach, face down. The mask and the tubing comes off when this is attempted. A device that I saw looks almost like a football helmet but on closer inspection is a light plastic helmet with  thick rounded bars (like a face mask) in front of the face to accommodate for the CPAP mask and tubing. It's patent is pending and may take another 1-2 years to become available. You can see the design at http://www.sleepmedicinesolutions.com.

After many hours of walking, my tired feet took me to a company called "Happy Feet." Not the penguin movie, but a shoe insert that's filled with glycerin that massages your feet when walking. I bought a pair and so far so good. You can check them out here.

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