Dodow Sleep Aid

What is Dodow Sleep Aid?

The Dodow Sleep Aid is an all-in-one solution to help those suffering from sleeping difficulties by allowing the user to control their rate of breathing without any adverse effects from sleeping medications.

The Dodow projects a halo onto your ceiling, and you will have to synchronize your breathing as the halo expands and retracts.

According to its website, Dodow works to gradually slow down your breathing rate to approximately six breaths per minute.

This breathing rates allegedly targets a reflex known as the baroreflex. The baroreflex is part of your autonomic nervous system.

According to the CDC, approximately one-third of adults have reported getting less than the recommended amount of sleep.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society recommends adults aged 18 – 60 years should sleep at least 7 hours each night.

Increased risks such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, frequent mental distress, and all-cause mortality are associated with sleeping less than 7 hours per night.

Patients who are unable to sleep are categorized as:

• Those that cannot sleep
• Those who will not sleep
• Those who have excessive daytime sleepiness
• Those with increased movement during sleep

This article will highlight the available research supporting the Dodow Sleep Aid to determine if this product can help you fall asleep faster.

How to Use the Dodow Sleep Aid

The Dodow Sleep Aid uses a metronome light. You will begin performing synchronized breathing, which may help train your brain to fall asleep more regularly.

The Dodow Sleep Aid implements forms of meditation, yoga, and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) that are alleged to assist with retraining your mind to fall asleep more frequently.

To begin using your Dodow Sleep Aid, you will need to first activate the 8-minute or 20-minute sleep cycle by tapping the Dodow. Once activated, a light blue light is projected onto the ceiling.

Once the halo displays on the ceiling, you will begin breathing in rhythm with the light. As the halo expands, you inhale, and when the halo retracts, you exhale.

This serves to help slow down your breathing, which may produce a more conducive breathing pattern that is more relaxing.

Users with the most difficulty falling asleep are recommended to start with the 20-minute cycle. Once you have experienced success with this cycle, you can attempt to progress to the 8-minute cycle.

According to their website, results will vary, and may take months to train your brain to fall asleep more quickly.

Proposed Benefits: Is There Science Backing the Claims?

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders are characterized by complaints of insomnia and excessive sleepiness that are due to alterations in the internal circadian timing system or a misalignment between the timing of sleep and 24-hour social and physical environment.

The Dodow may have a role in helping to retrain your brain to fall asleep on a normal schedule by using deep breathing techniques to reset your circadian rhythm.

The circadian rhythm's role is to promote wakefulness during the day and facilitate the ability to stay asleep during the night.

Optimal sleep quality is achieved when the desired sleep time aligns with the timing of the endogenous circadian rhythm of sleep and the amount of wakefulness.

Poor circadian rhythms have been connected to poor physical and mental health and sleeping patterns.

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders such as delayed sleep phase disorder or advanced sleep phase disorder include activities that need to normalize the timing of sleep.

Activities may also include improving the ability to synchronize the circadian phase and sleep-wake timing that are out of phase.

Breathing exercises had a significant effect on improving the quality of sleep and reducing delirium in a study.

Further, the effects of performing breathing exercises from this study helped reduce patients' perception of light and noise, leading to decreased sleep disturbances.

Provided that the research shows that breathing exercises may be an effective activity to improve sleep, the Dodow may provide more benefit with its halo guided breathing exercise.

Is it Safe?

The Dodow Sleep Aid may help avoid the use of over-the-counter and prescription medication, which may affect appetite, alertness, and cognition.

As a non-pharmacologic treatment for insomnia, the available studies show no adverse effects to using the Dodow Sleep Aid.

If you have other underlying conditions causing insomnia which can be linked to depression, anxiety, and stress, and you may need to speak with a medical professional.

How Much Does It Cost?

The Dodow Sleep Aid is available for purchase on their website.

• 1 Dodow Sleep Aid: $59.90 (S+H $3.99)
• 2 Dodow Sleep Aid: $98 (free shipping)
• 3 Dodow Sleep Aid: $117 (free shipping)

The Dodow also has a travel case for an additional $9.00.

There are two shipping options available:

• Standard: 4-6 days
• Express: 2-4 days

A 100 nights trial money-back guarantee backs Dodow. If you are not satisfied with the Dodow Sleep Aid, you have 100 days after the delivery date to send it back in, and must be in its original packing.

To begin the refund process, you will need to contact them at service.client@mydodow.com, and they will get in touch with you within 24 hours.

Alternative Options

In addition to light therapy, exercise can be a useful treatment to treat insomnia, especially as it is unlikely to contribute to severe adverse effects.

A study found that individuals who met the recommended physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes per week were associated with significantly reduced symptoms of insomnia severity and improved mood.

Further, the improvements in sleep and mood from the study also were indicators that were independent with average daily light exposure.

Another study of sedentary adults who were 55 years and older suffering from insomnia for at least three months was randomized to either 16-weeks of aerobic physical activity plus sleep hygiene or the non-physical activity with sleep hygiene.

The study results found that aerobic physical activity, along with sleep hygiene, can serve as an effective treatment to improve sleep quality, mood, and quality of life in older adults with chronic insomnia.

Some other alternatives that could prove useful to help promote improved sleep behaviors include avoiding caffeine consumption after 4 PM, decreasing nicotine use 2 to 3 hours before bedtime, keeping the bedroom cool, and only using the bedroom for sleep and sex.

The Bottom Line

The Dodow Sleep Aid can be a cost-effective strategy that uses light metronome therapy to slow your breathing down to help you fall asleep faster.

However, these changes may take a few months of practice to achieve these benefits.

The benefits may be short-lived, and the Dodow will help you fall asleep but not stay asleep, which means that you may be required to run another 20-minute or 8-minute cycle if you awaken in the middle of the night.

The Dodow may be the most effective when implementing sleep hygiene training and increasing levels of physical activity.

Stronger correlations of improved mood and ability to fall asleep are primarily associated with aerobic exercise performance in particular.

Participating in a physical activity program for more than three days per week can optimize health and sleep benefits.

When possible, you should limit caffeine and nicotine use before bed, and only go to bed when it is time to sleep.

Patients with insomnia who do not respond to medications and cognitive behavior therapy should be referred to a sleep center for further testing and treatment.