Product: Philip Stein Sleep Bracelet
Price: $302
Rating: Weak Recommend*
Does counting sheep not do it for you? There’s now a medication-free solution you wear on your wrist which may help you put an end to anxiety and sleepless nights. A favourite of both Rupert Murdoch and Oprah, Philip Stein Sleep Bracelets are stylish watch-like wrist bands designed with an extra health-related feature utilizing frequency technology and is purported to be effective if your lack of rest and inability to relax is stress related. It's also recommended as an aid to those who suffer from fear of flying...
How It Works:
As you may know, all objects have a frequency at which they resonate. If your body is exposed to a certain frequency or “beat” for a certain amount of time, some believe users will fall into sync with the frequency, affecting your state of mind, similar to when energized with upbeat tempo music or using a hum/chant to reach a relaxed meditative state.
Built into this bracelet is a natural frequency technology metal disk which is advertised to emit signals at special frequencies. These frequencies supposedly interact with the body’s “biofield” creating a feeling of harmony and calm. Still not convinced about frequency technology? Download a Binaural Beats audio track (plenty available on YouTube) and listen to it with stereo headphones and see if your body is "attuned" to this sort of biofeedback response.
There are a few "frequency bracelets" out there, but this one also happens to look fashionable. This isn't just a fancy accessory, but claims to be clinically proven to be effective (at least according to their own cited PR material). But this product isn't for everyone; the Philip Stein Sleep Bracelet comes with a warning.
Warning: Heart disease patients should not use this device except under advice of a medical doctor. Not suitable for persons implanted with cardiac pacemakers, and those monitored by electronic equipment (e.g. ECG monitors and ECG alarms). Patients with acute diseases and infectious diseases should not use this device. Patients with severe skin diseases or sensitive skin, or those in a state of bleeding should not use this device.
Whether this warning is truly scientifically warranted or just marketing related isn't clear, since we're not afflicted by any of these conditions.
We found we slept marginally better while wearing this device, but as noted by an independent study conducted by the Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy Medical Journal for Sleep Professionals, the effectiveness of these type of bio-frequency devices fall under the "purchase at your own risk" category:
While the current overall results are not statistically significant, a substantial number of subjects demonstrated improvements in the measured individual sleep parameters. Feeling more refreshed after sleep was the primary outcome measure that most clearly separated from placebo. There was not a clear indication that the combination of devices was better than the single device alone condition across all of the sleep parameters.
Pros: The bracelet is light, easy to wear and even looks good enough to wear out. A good night's sleep is priceless and those seeking a possible non-medication solution for stress/sleep related issues might consider this or other bio-feedback frequency products, which may prove effective, whether due to true physiological or a psychological effects of wearing. In our one-person study, we felt a modest improvement in sleep.
Cons: Although a good night's sleep is priceless, this product may not be for everyone's budget. The science behind this device is questionable at best.
*Our Ratings:
Strong Recommend
Recommend
Weak Recommend
Don't Recommend
Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the manufacturer did give us the product for testing and review purposes.
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I'd probably put a red "No Recommend" tag on this thing. In capitals. And bigger than the watch itself.
This is exactly the same con as the Power Balance wristbands. "Holograms that regulate your natural field" are no more effective than writing your favourite angel name in a piece of paper and throwing it in a fire. It is a scam, the product is blatantly bogus, and I'm sort of disappointed that it got such atention from Unpluggd.
Hi Carbonara,
I found binaural beats so effective I had to give this bracelet a go. As with many "alternative" remedies, being open to the possible placebo effect helps! It's a great looking bracelet though, and sparked off many interesting conversations...
I'm dissappointed that AT even previewed a hocus-pocus device like this.
If you are having sleep problems, see your PCP to determine the best course of action.
Signed, someone that has had a sleep disorder for 9 years.
Emily,
"Being open to the possible placebo effect helps"?
You're encouraging people to be open to paying $302 for a device that does nothing in the hope that they'll knowingly fool themselves into thinking it does something?
In the spirit of that, then,I offer everyone a discount: be open to the placebo effect of sending just $10 to my PayPal account in exchange for better sleep! Not only do I *guarantee* a possible placebo effect, I ALSO guarantee you'll feel good about having saved $292 over my competitor's possible placebo effect!
There are less expensive placebos out there.
Rhythmic music is not the same as a magic vibrating bracelet. Music has many actual scientific studies by real scientists showing it can effect our moods. Clicking disks that create unhearable "frequencies" do not. Even if the mumbo jumbo about frequencies effecting the body was true, we have zero clinical evidence or understanding of what frequencies are harmful or beneficial. You might as well stick a cell phone under your pillow - it creates "frequencies" too.
If you find that downloading and listening to Binaural Beats audio tracks helpful, then I would simply urge you to get a small bedside speaker to softly play the rhythmic music while you sleep. It would be more scientifically sound, and would have the placebo effect to boot.
UnPlggd, I'm disappointed. You reviewed it simply because the manufacturer gave it to you? Bad review or not, it's still a waste of space on your site.
yeah, I am also pretty surprised/disappointed to see unpluggd giving any attention to such silly tripe. are you guys gonna review magnetic energy bracelets next? and how do you guys recommend arranging my power crystals to best improve my productivity?
This is what I have
http://blushield.us/portable.htm, anything that is PASSIVE can never output a constant waveform frequency and a SAFE one at that!