Can gizmo that blasts you with electricity really . . . beat your insomnia

An expert’s verdict on sleeping aids

CAN’T sleep? Join the unhappy club: according to the NHS, one in three people in the UK has trouble sleeping and every year it hands out more than ten million prescriptions for sleeping pills. There’s a range of products that claims to help. Here, Michael Oko, an ENT surgeon at United Lincolnshire Hospitals and the Sleep Disorders Centre in Harley Street, gives

ANGELA EPSTEIN his verdict on some of the latest. We then rated them. MUSICAL PILLOW

Original Sound Asleep Pillow, £14.99, sleepypeople.com THIS pillow allows you to play music to help you sleep. It has a speaker built inside — you then ‘ plug in’ a music source, such as an mP3 player, radio or TV. you can’t hear sound unless you are lying on the pillow, so it shouldn’t disturb your partner.

EXPERT COMMENT: a key problem with our hectic lifestyle is the inability to switch off, so listening to calming music will doubtless help for relaxation and distraction.

However, having a radio could do the same thing — although it may be more likely to disturb your partner. 5/10

BRAIN ZAPPER

The Alpha-stim, £599, themicrocurrentsite.co.uk THIS gadget comes with electrodes that clip on to the earlobes and send tiny electric currents to the brain to increase ‘alpha activity’ — that is relaxing brain waves.

It is meant to be used daily for between 20-60 minutes before bed for a fortnight, followed by two to three treatments a week until the condition improves.

EXPERT COMMENT: a randomised trial — in which volunteers didn’t know whether they were using the real gadget or a placebo device — appeared to show it works. The electrical impulses may have some kind of calming effect, rather like a TENS machine used for pain relief in childbirth. The only problem is that it’s incredibly expensive. 9/10

PERFUMED MASK

Lavender Eye Mask, £52, holisticsilk.com THIS silk mask, which rests on your cheekbones and forehead rather than directly on the eyes, blocks out light and is filled with lavender, which has sedative properties. EXPERT COMMENT: Sleeping in total darkness is an important element of sleep hygiene as light prevents the secretion of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, and small studies have found that the smell of lavender can reduce anxiety and so aid sleep. The silk is luxurious and comfort is important with sleep. I think you could achieve the same with a good- quality eye mask and drops of inexpensive lavender oil on your pillow. 7/10

PRESSURE PATCH

H7 Insomnia Control, £9.90, scrubsuk.com THIS small, round pressure device mounted on a flat base is fixed with sticky patches to a point on the inside of the wrist, known in acupressure as the H7 insomnia pressure point. This point is used in alternative medicine to address sleep disorders. The idea is you use it 30 minutes before bed to ‘improve sleep quality’. EXPERT COMMENT: I think this is most likely to work as a placebo — that is, because we think we’re doing something to address the problem, it must be helping — which arguably a lot of sleep aids do. It’s relatively inexpensive, so for that reason it’s worth trying. But it’s rather unscientific. 4/10

SUNSET LAMP

Lumie Bodyclock Luxe 700, £170, lumie.com THIS combined sleep gadget and alarm clock can be programmed to give off the colour effect and lower intensity of a setting sun as you go to sleep. you can also use it as a bedside lamp. The light itself has a low level of blue light, the wavelength that effectively keeps you awake.

It comes with a selection of sounds to induce relaxation and sleep — including white noise and the sound of waves.

EXPERT COMMENT: Devices like this are popular and this one has the useful benefit of cutting out blue light — blue light can prevent levels of sleep-inducing melatonin rising at night.

The clock essentially mirrors natural light in the morning, resetting our body clock — known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus — which is important for a healthy sleep/wake cycle. However, to save money, it could be equally helpful to sleep in a very dark room, as this will also stimulate melatonin production. The white noise is a good way of blocking out background sounds that could disturb sleep. 8/10

CACTUS CAPSULE

Desert Doze Sleep Formula, £16.10, biovea.com a HERBAL remedy containing prickly pear, chamomile and melatonin, ‘ to create restful sleep’. you take two capsules 30 minutes before bed.

EXPERT COMMENT: The key ingredient here is melatonin — a hormone our bodies produce to regulate sleep timing: our levels climb as we fall asleep.

While chamomile is known to have soothing properties, I would be very concerned about people self- prescribing melatonin. It isn’t available over the counter in the UK.

When melatonin is prescribed by doctors it’s given as a short-term treatment for insomnia in people aged 55 and over and shouldn’t be used for longer than 13 weeks as we don’t know the long-term risk.

Two capsules of this formula contain 5mg melatonin which is a moderate dose. I think it is best to be given under the direction of a clinician, so although it could theoretically work, I couldn’t recommend it. 5/10

SINGING HEADBAND

Sleepphones Classis Headband Headphones, £23.99, sleepphones.co.uk THIS consists of tiny speakers embedded in a fleecy headband so you can sleep on your side without ear buds or headphones digging into your head and listen to restful music through a device such as a smart phone.

EXPERT COMMENT: Soothing music can help relax the mind. Though the headband is said to be cosy, I think some people might not like the feeling of something around their head when they’re trying to sleep. 5/10

MATTRESS MONITOR

Beurer — SE 80 Sleepexpert, £149.99, betterlifehealthcare.com THE 6 in-long device is placed under the mattress and connects to your phone; it monitors how much you move around. It also measures heart rate and respiratory rate and detects interruptions in breathing. It uses the data to offer individual tips on how to get a better night’s sleep. EXPERT COMMENT: This device seems a little ambitious in its promises when you compare it with the sensitive tests clinicians undertake to evaluate stages of sleep — such as placing electrodes on the head to measure brainwave activity. I’m not sure how something placed under the mattress could be sensitive enough to measure, say, heart rate, although heart rate is a useful way of assessing sleep quality. There’s also a worry it leads to ‘information overload’ — which could be a source of stress. 4/10

SLEEPY TEA

Yogi Bedtime Tea, £2.35, from Holland & Barrett. THESE tea bags contain valerian, chamomile, passionflower, liquorice, cardamom and cinnamon. Steep two teabags in hot water and drink before bed. EXPERT COMMENT: Chamomile, passionflower and valerian are said to have sleep-inducing properties — though not all people will be affected and there isn’t enough research to show they make a difference (the other ingredients are added to create a warming feel to the flavour).

However, having a warming drink such as this can help with the relaxation process before going to bed and many caffeine-free drinks would probably have the same effect. The process of getting ready for bed is more important than people realise.

Wind down slowly, perhaps with a warm bath, or reading something undemanding in a low light. 7/10

COOLING DUVET

Snuggledown Rest & Rejuvenate Duvet, £66.63 for a double, amazon.co.uk THIS bedding has been specifically designed, claims the manufacturer, to optimise sleep. It works by using specially created fibres often used in sports shirts which regulate temperature by carrying heat and moisture away from the body, preventing overheating and so improving sleep. EXPERT COMMENT: Overheating is an important factor in poor sleep. The body’s core temperature needs to cool down for you to fall asleep. So this duvet may well help, though a cheaper option would be to use a thinner duvet than usual. 6/10

PRICKLY MAT

Bulletproof Sleep Induction Mat, £39.95, bulletproof.com THIS pillowcase-size mat is covered with small raised points which are designed to stimulate acupuncture meridians on the back (in Chinese medicine, meridians are channels through which energy is supposed to flow through the body). The manufacturer claims lying on it on the floor for 15 to 40 minutes before bed will result in a release of ( feel- good) endorphins and increased blood circulation to aid sleep.

EXPERT COMMENT: Chinese medicine has been around for thousands of years — just because something isn’t sourced in conventional medicine, doesn’t mean we doctors don’t recognise its place.

I don’t know if there is enough evidence to show this will release endorphins and some people may find the spikes uncomfortable.

anyway, though endorphins make a person feel good, that isn’t necessarily the reason they will sleep well. However, the act of lying down and resting can only help calm the mind and aid sleep — relaxing on the couch could have a similar effect. 5/10