It's hard to believe that MedGadget covered the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach as if it were a real medical device.
At first the technology looks intriguing:
- Softwave™ Sensor Technology (wireless)
- Bedside Display
- Web and Database Technology
So far so good. Then you get:
- Personalized Sleep Coaching Program
- SmartWake™ Alarm (optional)
RED FLAG!!!
and the Zeo 7 Steps to Sleep Fitness are:
- Evaluate your Sleep Fitness
- Relax your way to sleep
- Build your bedroom sanctuary
- Optimize your sleep schedule
- Adopt the Power Down Hour™
- Eat and drink smart for sleep
- Harmonize with your housemates
All for only $399 (with free shipping).
Now the fine print:
Zeo Personal Sleep Coach is neither a medical device nor a medical program and is not intended for the diagnosis or treatment of sleep disorders. If you suspect that you may have a sleep disorder, consult your physician.
Is this for real? I guess I shouldn't be surprised -- No FDA approval.
I can believe that these sensors are capable of collecting EEG that could be used for sleep staging. But even that hasn't been proven true. An abstract accepted for presentation is interesting but is not validation. The technology here is the confidence part of the trick.
They claim to use the sleep histogram (personal sleep score or "ZQ") along with on-line analysis as a metric for determining if any of the 7 "Sleep Fitness" steps are actually helping. Based on normal ranges of sleep stage percentages during the night these metrics may well tell you if a person slept "normally", but can ZQ changes really be attributed to some lifestyle alteration? Where's the clinical validation for this?
Also, the technology is supposed to:
find what could be a “natural awakening point” - when it could be a little easier to get out of bed in the morning.
It could, huh?
Anyone that would shell out money for a product like this probably has a real sleep disorder and should see a medical professional for evaluation.
Most sleep disorders are caused by apnea events anyway. A real ambulatory polysomnography (PSG) system (e.g. the Somté) includes EEG, EOG, and a full complement of breathing parameters (airflows, pressures, and SaO2).
To me anyway, the Zeo device and program will help very few people and appears to be another direct-to-consumer rip-off.
UPDATE (1/17/2010): More on the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach
Tags: Actigraphy, Polysomnography, psg, sleep staging, SleepCycle, WakeMate, zeo
By the way, if you read their website’s “30-Day Return Policy,” it clearly says:
“Returned merchandise must include all original accessories, literature, documentation and packaging in the same saleable condition in which it was received by you.”
OR THEY CHARGE YOU 30% for a “RESTOCKING FEE” — $90, PLUS you have to pay return shipping!
My husband, who loves buying all of these ridiculous gadgets without reading the fine print, ordered one of these items. There’s a lot of small compartments that come in sealed blister-packages that would render it NOT in the “same saleable condition.”
This is a scam. I don’t care what the New York Times says about it. It’s a scam.
Whoops, I meant “components,” not “compartments.”
Thanks for this write-up!
Patsy, did your husband try it?? I’m not as concerned about the return policy as whether it works as claimed.
Here is my conversation with a customer support conversation regarding this issue. This is not a scam. You’re assets are safe.
Corey(me):
But you’re saying that if I open up the product and take all of the contents out of the protective packaging I can still then return into the severed packaging and return it free of charge other than my own shipping fee?
Paul:
Yes.
If you dont believe me go to the the Zeo site and select the “live online chat support” and ask like I did.
It is not a scam. It probably only says that as a precaution. Think about brushing your teeth. Although it’s very good if you do you still have to go to the dentist 2 a year for a check up. Modern machines still don’t replace doctors.
Bob is an idiot. Lifestyle changes do affect sleep quality. That his been documented for years by people far smarter than Bob. Ask anyone with nightime GERD if sleeping on a different bed or eating at different time affects there sleep. The machine does not claim to diagnose a medical condition. So what is the problem. Bob does not provide one credible source that says the sleep staging does not work. He just makes the claim for the hell of it.
The device is clearly aimed at yuppies like me, not average consumer, so no need to decry the pricing…
I don’t sleep a lot so I used to make sleep tables, that with any luck would map sleep duration to easy awakening; however while there is quantifiable improvement in number of times you wake up refreshed as opposed to groggy from them it’s not nearly 100% successful (I am guessing it’s due to both inexact timing and difference in environment/time to fall asleep/caffeine/alcohol/etc), so I this thing helps me wake up better at that time by tracking in realtime that would be well worth it.
If not $249 it costs now is not THAT much money.
Bob, your POST is the scam (not really) but it sure is is opinionated.
1. What is the “Red Flag”? The Personalized Sleep Coaching Program and SmartWake™ Alarm (optional) or the Zeo 7 Steps to Sleep Fitness? What is “Red Flag” about ANY of them?
2. You seem to think Zeo’s not being approved by the FDA to treat sleep disorders is somehow evidence of this being a scam? How so? I can perfectly well imagine a device that records and displays someone’s sleep phases NOT being approved by the FDA as something “to treat sleep disorders”. The FDA is NOTORIOUS for ridiculously high requirements for something to be officially approved as a “treatment”.
3. You seem incredulous that a head-worn device is simply able to pick up brainwaves and detect what phase of sleep you’re in with reasonably accuracy. I don’t know. Based on what is already out there, that doesn’t seem like such a dubious proposition.
4. If you think you need “clinical validation” to determine whether lifestyle changes affect your sleep, I think you need to get yourSELF clinically validated (joke). Either that, or just do some basic research on sleep.
5. If you think the only people who will pay money for this device are those who suffer from sleep disorders then you don’t make as much money as many others do. Or maybe you just don’t value the feedback it gives as much as others do.
6. And re it just being a scam: Have you seen who is on their advisory board? http://www.myzeo.com/pages/48_about_us.cfm Among others,
Charles A. Czeisler, PhD, MD – Director, Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Daniel Aeschbach, PhD – Assistant Professor of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School
John W. Winkelman, MD, PhD – Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
and Medical Director, Sleep Health Center of Brigham
and Women’s Hospital
Yes…you’re right…it MUST be a scam!
P.S. – And I have no connection to the Zeo company.
[…] though it has been over 6 months, my Zeo scam post is suddenly getting some comment traction. I thought I’d respond to some of these as well as […]
Okay, So we have both sides of the story here, Con’s from the skeptic(bob), and pro’s/arguments from (Robert the other bob). Has anyone used this thing and actually improved their sleep to the degree it solved their problem or gave them enough information to solve their problem on their own?
For one I have read dozens of articles and only two or three outside of zeos main site say it’s a descent product and one had no background in sleep studies. I’m sorry skeptics this IS a scam. The fact that they say it can’t cure anything says it all. Even if it helps someone sleep it’s because they’re expecting it to. zeo is one of those as seen on tv products that tries to get as much money from the buyer. Just to talk to talk to an online sleep coach it costs extra. If this company really wanted to help people sleep that would be included. If you want to improve your sleep, sleep better and longer, there are plenty of medical websites and journals out there that will help you and give you advice for FREE. And to the person who says he isn’t a spokesperson for Zeo, I say it’s better to be a skeptic instead of believing what a companies website wants you to believe. Good article Bob.
P.S. they probably have doctors on their company’s board to design the sensors (I don’t doubt they measure brain waves) but the “studies” they did didn’t even have a control group. Someone from Harvard would have learned that in science 101. They have people with any type of recognizable credentials to make it look as if they’re not trying to rip you off.
Wouldn’t this device be endorsed by the American Sleep Association or the Amercian Academy of Sleep Medicine or any other reputable sleep organization if it could truly help your sleep? Changing sleep habits and following basic sleep hygiene will help you sleep better. The only way to tell if you have something more serious than bad sleep habits is to have an all night sleep test that is monitored by skilled, trained technologists not a SIMM card.
Here’s a video of a guy who used the Zeo and did statistical analysis of the results:
http://vimeo.com/groups/45234/videos/11912389
So, by now I think we’ve gotten the idea that the Zeo is not supposed to help sleep.
But did all you “omg this device is fail cause it doesn’t help your sleep!!!!” ever think that maybe that’s not why some of us get/want to get/intend to get it?
I am a veeeeery long time sufferer of hypersomnia and don’t (at the moment) have the insurance/money to go get a sleep test. The reason I want to try this device isn’t for it to cure me of my sleeping disorder, but to simply tell me what stages of sleep I go through at night, and how long I am in them because I’m curious! And with the Zeo unlike a polysomnography test, assuming it actually works as intended, you can keep track of your sleep cycle and find out what changes to your life effect your sleep pattern over months!
The possibility of it waking me up at an easier wake up time is worth much more than the retail. For anyone who has hypersomnia of any sort knows how nearly impossible it is to wake up in the morning.
All in all, there’s no way to accurately diagnose a disorder from it, and it legally can’t say it will help your sleeping disorders, but (again, working as intended) it will give you some idea how well you are sleeping, what your sleep cycles look like, and give you general tips (which you can also find via google) on how to improve sleep quality.
When an actual test costs upwards of $1500, $200-300 can look pretty nice when you’re really frustrated why your sleep won’t improve and want to know what the heck your brain is doing at night.
Re Laura: I’m sure a company that cared about helping people sleep better or giving insight on how they sleep WOULD charge extra for Sleep coaching… You wouldn’t work your job for free just because you want to help someone would you? People gotta eat!
Zeo is an excellent Sleep Pattern Monitor Device! It helps people to know their sleep quality and habits, by providing very detail sleep data and statistics, people can adjust their life schedules and activities and by this to get a best quality of overnight sleep gradually, you don’t know how good it is until you try it! Plus it has 30 days return policy.
To know about about MyZeo product and service, check this link http://twitter.com/myzeosleep
To buy the best deal zero device online, here is the promotion link http://myzeo.tellapal.com/a/clk/Wg7Gh
Like others, Bob, I think you may have missed the point here.
I dropped a similar amount of dough on a GPS watch/heart rate monitor to help me with my training. It really doesn’t do anything I couldn’t do myself with simpler tools and gumption. But it turns out I’m happy with my purchase because I like having access to easily collected objective data while trying optimize something personal and subjective.
I don’t own a Zeo, but if I bought one it wouldn’t be to diagnose a sleeping disorder, any more than I’d use my heart rate monitor or my home blood pressure tester to diagnose anything. I’d just be to get better insight into body’s behavior and my health. Given that, I think their marketing fluff is, well, marketing fluff: clearly positive spin, but not pernicious or fraudulent.
I too would like it better if companies only made product statements that had been proven in high-n double-blind studies. But that’s not the world we live in. If somebody sells a scale as helping you lose weight, that doesn’t seem like a scam to me, and so neither does the Zeo.
I own one…..
This isn’t a product to diagnose a sleeping disorder, but it could TELL you if you have SOME disorder.
If it takes you an hour to fall asleep, or if you don’t REM very often, or if you only sleep for a few hours then wake up, all this would be shown in the log.
I don’t have any sleep problems, my issue is quality of sleep.
I’m using it to improve my fitness training and track my sleep along with my athletic progress.
It is a great service to publish a review of something YOU HAVE TRIED so you would be speaking from experience. Publishing a review of the sales literature without trying the product itself? Absolutely useless. If you want to be in the blogging business, GET TO WORK – reviewing products takes WORK that you obviously didn’t bother to do. Just reading a website and typing away about your superficial opinion might be faster and cheaper, but it is also worthless. My point: I found your blog looking for someone’s EXPERIENCE with the ZEO, and reading your article was a waste of time, because you haven’t even tried it!
Interesting debate. There now exists what I would call a ‘hobbyist’ near-medical device market for items such as EEG and biofeedback gear. These are clearly marked as not for medical use because they have not passed formal FDA testing, though some are listed (‘cleared’) with the FDA. This does not mean that they do not function as advertised, only that they have not spent up to millions of dollars to obtain FDA clearance–resulting in much higher retail cost, and you probably could not buy one unless you have an M.D., anyway.
I once met with the FDA with a group of researchers; we had conducted Phase I and II trials of an EEG driven light sound stimulator, with positive results vs. ADHD, 40 subjects. They told us we needed at least 400 subjects to accept our statistics, and this would have cost $1 million. We were not able to raise that (back in 2001), and so we don’t have a medical device to treat ADHD.
Good conversation. I don’t have a Zeo, so I can’t really say if it is any good, but for the money, I would like to have included Econoise or a white noise generator as well as WiFi or some sort of network connectivity. For bonus points, it would also be nice if Zeo worked with FitBit or Withings. Like any other gadget hound, it isn’t necessarily about the money as much as I don’t want to be exploited.
Does Zeo know if there is ambient noise or can it detect dogs barking? Can it detect ambient light or does it guess that since it is 6am, you must be tossing and turning because of the sun coming in through an assumed window? Can Zeo detect and correlate your pulse with or too much caffeine? I don’t think exact accuracy would be as important as consistency, so if it did actually detect some sort of EEG and correlate it to sleep phases, it would provide a benefit.
I never get more than 6 hours of sleep, but don’t feel I need to. It’s possible Zeo may help, but the bottom line for me is, I think I’ll wait. I’m optimistic Zeo will evolve as long as somebody is buying it.
I love the ZEO. It is giving me insight in to my quality sleep that I could not get otherwise. Now I can make changes to my daily habits and see the impact on my quality sleep. Which of course is VERY important to our overall health.
I have been using the Zeo for a couple of weeks and I must admit to nearly not buying it because of this blog.
I am an engineer – and I have sleep apnea which did not respond to CPAP (I did not feel any less tired).
Firstly, I am amazed at how well the Zeo works – and how easy and comfortable it is to use. It records perfectly when I am awake in the night or in the morning before getting up (the only state I can confirm) but it appears to be accurately detecting the other states. And it has, perhaps, identified the problem I have which is insufficient REM sleep. I have more than average deep and light sleep, but the REM phase is about a third down. This gives me some options to look at.
So, in my view, it is definitely not a scam but a useful tool (like a blood pressure cuff and thermometer) for collecting information.
I have used the zeo as recommended by a naturopathic doc who is helping me resolve some parasympathetic nervous system issues. We used it to confirm that I am getting horrible quality sleep, both in stage patterns and lack of deep sleep. This device is helpful for getting insight to your sleep quality.
To those struggling with lack of good sleep, I would suggest 2 things…a software called f.lux (http://stereopsis.com/flux/)that removes the blue light from your computer screen at night (blue light reduces melatonin), and a treatment called sleep compression (which has also shown to help apnea).
Hi John,
Why did your apnea not respond to CPAP?
Just curious! I use CPAP and it works wonders.
– Sharon
This is bogus. Sleep disorders are life threatining and undiagnosed leads. If you need a sleep test, demand an in home sleep study so you don’t have to be on video with people watching you sleep, fart, snore and whatever else you do in your sleep!
This is a true story.
In 2010 Steve Haselwander, OMC Sleep program director began having episodes of emotional distress and depression and hallucinations that gradually increased.
During this time he begun having an affair with Lindsay Johnson.
Lindsay Johnson set out a course of using Steve by having him cover for her as she left every day (time card fraud).
He bought her lunches, dinners, clothes, as well as gifts for her children including a backyard playground set.
Steve Haselwander’s symptoms continued to increase. He had became somnolent, lethargic, and continued to have problems with grasping reality.
Six weeks prior to his diagnosis, Steve lost all rational thinking. He continued to spend all his time with Lindsay. His credit card was maxed out trying to please her every whim..
One month prior to diagnosis Steve’s wife, Jeanni witnessed Steve and Lindsay making out when she came to pick him up for work. His wife Jeanni filed for divorce. Jeanni could not understand his behavior as he had always been a very morale and professional person. His work helping people meant everything to him.
After a month, Jeanni Haselwander went to Lindsay’s to bring Steve home in hopes of reconciling their marriage. She immediately noticed that Steve was having troubling walking and talked as if he was in a constant state of delirium. Jeanni took Steve to his primary care doctor who in turn ordered a series of tests because he was having visual hallucinations, a left leg foot drop, and loss of coordination.
Craig Johnson, Lindsay’s father-in-law took texts from Lindsay’s phone and gave them to OMC HR who then called Lindsay Johnson in for a meeting to discuss the texts in which Lindsay blamed Steve for their affair.
HR called Steve also in for a meeting, but he had a scheduled MRI of the brain and a CT of the spine for that day. HR insisted that Steve cancel these important tests and see them for a meeting to discuss Lindsay’s accusations instead. Steve Haselwander had to be helped into HR by his wife since he was not able to walk on his own at that time. Jeanni told HR that Steve was hallucinating and was not in his right mind and anything he might say or do should not be held accountable against him. The meeting lasted 1‑1/2 hours. When Jeanni went in to retrieve him, Steve told her that he had no memory of what happened in the meeting, except for them showing him the texts. He said the texts only showed his correspondence and not hers, They had fired Steve.
The next day Steve had to be taken via ambulance to OMC because he could not move, had slurred speech, and did not know where he was. An MRI and CT showed masses on both sides of his brain. He was therefore rushed to Virginia Mason Hospital where a more extensive MRI could be done and a brain biopsy. He was diagnosed with Large B‑cell Primary CNS lymphoma. Terminal cancer! 6 weeks later he went home and received an e-mail from Lindsay that did not make sense to him. Apparently, Lindsay said she would no longer be his friend because he had gone back to his wife.
When Steve received this e-mail he still was confused. He had lost most of his memory going back at least a year an one half. He returned and e‑mail to her, and she in turn filed an electronic harassment restraining order against him. Her restraining order designated that Steve could not come within 1000 feet of her workplace (OMC) Steve still could not walk. The restraining order was life-threatening to Steve.
Several months after diagnosis, Steve met with the hospital administration. Steve’s wife, Jeanni presented hardcopies of texts between Lindsay and Steve demonstrating that Lindsay was the initiator of most texts, verbal affection, as well as sexting.
Currently, Lindsay is still an employee of OMC taking over Steve’s position and Steve has been told there is no position available for him with the hospital at this time.
Lindsay Johnson cheated OMC for over a year on her time. She tried to destroy Steve Haselwander’s good name, reputation, and career after he went back to his wife.
THIS THE TYPE OF PERSON WHO SHOULD NOT BE IN HEALTHCARE!
From friends of Steve Haselwander
So you never tried it? Don’t say anything about something if you have never tried a product.
Hey guys,
I didn’t read the whole post, but I do have a bit of helpful information.
I go to a small liberal arts college whose faculty and staff are world-class. We are particularly noted for our Psychology and Biochemistry Departments. Of course, as a result, we have a couple of classes in the Psych Dept whose only focus is sleep. In one of these classes, we use the Zeo products to record data about our own sleep and analyse it in the context of the course material.
Our profs recommend it, and our students really do improve their sleep habits. I’ve watched my friend while she’s generating data, and I believe it works. (Partly because it picked up her change in consciousness when I was making a bit of noise with her roommate.)
One of two ‘catches’: The Zeo company did not want to get sued for someone (like any number of the above people) thinking it’s a medical tool. It’s only meant for ‘recreational’ purposes as far as the law is concerned.
I only found this page because I was looking to buy one myself, and this brings me to the other catch:
The damned thing is far too expensive. It’s all about the coding and structure of the electronics –it only needs ONE sensor to do all the amazing stuff it does. And they still make you pay $100+.
Anyway, I’ve got to go mow the lawn.
Peace, h8rs
Purchased the travel version of this for my iphone as a groupon. Tracks my sleep patterns perfectly. Buy this and use it if you have sleeping issues or just want to be aware of your sleep patterns as I was. EEG technology has been miniaturized and utilized in several products with great success. The tracking of these patterns and providing information about sleep patterns is one of the least of its uses. Some utilize this same technology for computer control and remote control of external mechanized units. In short this works, over thinking it based on unavailability of an FDA endorsement is ridiculous. Also, who cares what the FDA says about anything. They don’t act in your interest anyhow. Wish I had a dollar for every item or drug the FDA passed or endorsed that killed a person
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WOw, I can’t believe how ignorant this person is. Of course lifestyle changes change sleep quality. And of COURSE there is a natural wake-up point in your sleep cycles. And of COURSE an eeg could find that point. Wow.
looks like Robert may have been right on cue with his prediction that Zoe may not be all that useful to many people.
If you have not heard, Zeo is shutting down
http://mobihealthnews.com/20772/exclusive-sleep-coach-company-zeo-is-shutting-down/
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