Nightwave Sleep Assistant review: Nightwave Sleep Assistant

We all have a bad night from time to time, but what "bad night" means can vary from person to person, and even from night to night. You might be tossing and turning and restlessly dozing, or you might be lying awake, staring at the ceiling for hours and hours, growing increasingly exhausted and frustrated.

5.5

Nightwave Sleep Assistant

The Good

Non-intrusive Natural and drug-free Small and portable.

The Bad

Doesn't really help with serious insomnia Needs you to have your eyes open Very expensive.

The Bottom Line

The Nightwave Sleep Assistant is a good natural alternative for lightly troubled sleepers, but it is rather less useful if you have a serious problem.

The Nightwave Sleep Assistant aims to be a natural alternative to sedative drugs. It's a little black box with a button on the side and a light on the front; you simply aim it at the ceiling or wall, switch it on and lay back. A blue glow will pulsate slowly, to which you then synchronise your breathing.

In principle, it's not dissimilar to counting sheep or counting your breathing in seconds. If you can't sleep because your brain won't stop buzzing with thoughts, it helps take your mind away from your worries, while simultaneously regulating your breathing into a sleep pattern.

This is not something that you necessarily need a device for, but it does help to keep you focused on the rhythm of your breath without the need for numbers. However, it has one serious flaw: you need to keep your eyes open to use it. It is possible to have heavy eyelids and still unable to sleep, in which case the Nightwave Sleep Assistant isn't really much use.

We had several situations in which to test it: normal tiredness, regular wakefulness and climbing-the-walls insomnia. In the first two situations, it worked fine, although it was hard to tell in the former if it made any difference to normal falling-asleep times. In the third situation, it was all but useless; instead of calming, it seemed to add an additional pressure to the frustration of being unable to fall asleep.

Now, sleep and insomnia are highly individual experiences, so it's hard to say whether or not it would work for other people.

We would recommend trying a pulsing light smartphone app (Magic Light for iOS or Blue Sleep Therapy for Android), before splashing out 80 bucks, to see if you're receptive to this kind of sleep assistance.

Nevertheless, the Nightwave Sleep Assistant seems to be a good natural alternative for slightly troubled sleepers who have some cash to throw around. But it is rather less useful if you have a serious problem.