edreichua

Very cool idea! Congrats on the launch. What model is being used under the hood, and is there an option to use your own API key?

Congrats on the launch! Where can I download the desktop app? I tried looking for it on the website and couldn't find it.

Very cool! Congrats on the launch. Is Martin able to respond to someone if they text back? Also what are some of the most commonly used integrations?

I'm glad you found something that works for you! It's easy for someone suffering from chronic insomnia to just accept that there is nothing they can do (especially if they have experienced it for a very long time). It's great (and motivating for many chronic insomniacs out there) that you found a way to resolve/ cope with your insomnia after 20 years. Thanks for sharing your experience!

There is quite a bit of overlap. Our program uses many of the behavioral techniques (CBT-I) mentioned in the book, but we also go beyond just CBT-I to help you figure out the underlying psychological drivers of your chronic insomnia and resolve those drivers one by one.

I wouldn't claim that our app is better than any of the resources you mentioned. The best remedy is what works for you. For some people, it might be reading a book on insomnia, or practicing mindfulness. A lot of this is also influenced by personal preference too (do you prefer reading, or watching a video, or listening to an audio to consume content etc).

Our app resonates with users who prefer shorter and more "bite-sized" content (especially video or audio based) that can be consumed by spending 5-10 minutes a day, but there are also people who prefer receiving more information upfront. Go with what works best for you!

Sorry to hear about your insomnia. I know from first-hand experience how chronic insomnia can be debilitating and make one feel incredibly lonely. It might help to know that you're not alone. Over 50% of our users have insomnia for over a year, and many are able to find ways to improve their sleep through our app.

For a while, I just accepted the fact that insomnia is something I've to live with (it's easy to feel that way especially if it has lasted for so long), but that's just not true. There are ways to better cope with your insomnia even if you're not able to resolve it entirely. Give our app a try and let me know if you have any questions.

Definitely recommend going to a sleep clinic and see a sleep specialist if you have untreated sleep apnea. I have friends with sleep apnea who managed to resolve their insomnia by using cpap machines (although it might take a while to get used to it). In some instances, surgery might help too.

Agreed! Definitely talk to your physician if you're unsure! Not all chronic sleep issues are psychological in nature.

Insomnia is defined as trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep. In your case, it seems like the latter. Our app might be able to help, but it also seems like you might be experiencing bi-phasic sleep which is more common than you imagine. Sleep restriction therapy (which begins in the second week of our program) might be able to help you consolidate your sleep into a narrower window if that's ideal for you. I would also recommend that you talk to your physician, especially if you have existing medical conditions. Hope you find a way to resolve/ manage your sleep issue!

I know from personal experience how debilitating it can be to struggle with insomnia. It's one of those conditions that's so easy to hide and hope that you can just "will" it away, which is why people don't talk about it enough. Hope you find our app helpful!

Great question! Our users see a 6 point improvement in ISI (insomnia severity index) on average in the first 7 days, which represent a categorical improvement in insomnia severity e.g. from severe (clinical) insomnia to moderate (clinical) insomnia, or moderate (clinical) insomnia to mild insomnia. ISI continues to improve during the program, and the benefits are sustained after that.

Another important consideration is patient adherence (i.e. how likely someone is going to stay for the program), which is something that many digital health apps (and even in-person therapy) struggle with. A lot of this is influenced by personal preference too (do you prefer reading, or watching a video, or listening to an audio to consume content etc). So you can tell from the first 7 days if our approach resonates with you.

We also have a 30-day moneyback guarantee, so if the program doesn't work for you, we'll be happy to issue a refund.

Happy to provide more information here.

We start by understanding a person’s immediate sleep-related challenges and providing them with practical strategies for dealing with them. Then, we drill down on the underlying psychological drivers of a person’s chronic insomnia and create a personalized program to resolve those drivers one by one.

Every day, you will go through a set of modules (5 - 10 minutes each day) that teaches you the psychology skills you need to get better sleep. The modules presented will be based on what we think will be most effective for you, given your sleep patterns.

Our modules are often video based (short animated videos featuring our mascot - Merlin the owl) and audio based, and we have interactive modules, text based modules etc. Topics in the first phase of the program include how to deal with a racing mind, cognitive restructuring, techniques for general relaxation, stimulus control and sleep restriction therapy.

You'll also be recording your sleep each day, and this will help us:

+ Further personalize your program

+ Recommend a sleep restriction window for the following week.

Hope this answer your question!

Thanks! And yes, here are a few articles if you're interested:

[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/in-d...

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6796223/

There's also more information on https://stellarsleep.com/science.

If you don't think you have insomnia (you fall asleep fast and you stay asleep long enough), then you probably don't have chronic insomnia, which is what our app is designed for. That said, if you find yourself feeling groggy or not refreshed despite getting sufficient sleep, I would recommend that you talk to your physician. You might still find our app helpful (so give it a try and cancel if it doesn't work - we also have a 30-day moneyback guarantee), but just want to point out that our target audience is people with chronic insomnia.

Thank you for the feedback! We'll make information regarding pricing and program clearer to our users.

Regarding your question, we do send the survey results to our backend, and based on that, we 1. generate a sleep report 2. assign you to one of several tracks we have. We also personalize your specific program within the track (e.g. we'll adjust your sleep restriction window based on your sleep efficiency etc).

Thanks for the comment - I'm glad that you were able to find help online! Similar to you, I do consume a lot of content (and research articles) online, but to your point they are not for everyone. There's a lot of information online (some accurate, many not) that sometimes it's hard to tease out what's actually going to help especially for people who are sleep deprived. That's why we work with top sleep experts to create an app that users can trust, and we also conduct clinical studies with Harvard medical school/ Brigham's to validate our results.

That said, we do offer more than just information. We allow users to track their sleep on our app so we can customize our program. Each user goes through a personalized track based on their sleep habits. We also automatically calculate your sleep restriction window for you. We also have relaxation content that you can listen to right before you go to bed, a worry/ gratitude journal and a routine tracker.

Thanks for sharing! Will look into how we can make the fact that this is a paid app more apparent from the onset. We do have pricing information on our homepage (https://stellarsleep.com/faqs) but I'll be the first to admit that it's not easy to find.

We are still in the process of improving the survey, so your feedback is super valuable. So far, we have been over-indexing on helping our users figure out the severity of their insomnia and their sleep habits so we can create a personalized program, so our survey can be quite lengthy. Will definitely look into making it shorter. We do have pricing information in our FAQ (https://stellarsleep.com/faqs) but yes, it's easily missed on the page with other information. We'll look into making it clearer to our users.

Yes, we're aware of sleepio. Unfortunately, sleepio is only available via their partnership with major employers, so most people in the US will not be able to access their program.

Both Stellar Sleep and Sleepio are based on behavioral psychology. Sleepio is a weekly program (I believe you spend an hour each week). From our experience and also through user interviews, we found that it's easier for patients to follow a daily program (we offer daily bite-sized modules so you don't have to spend more than 5 - 10 minutes a day).

Also good point! We do delve into sleep hygiene - that being said, our target audience is people with chronic insomnia (insomnia 3+ nights per week for 3 months or longer). While common advice such as “avoid caffeine after 4pm”, “limit alcohol in the evening to no more than 2 drinks before 7pm” or “minimize the use of blue-light emitting devices an hour before sleep” are helpful, there is little evidence that sleep hygiene alone is sufficient to treat chronic insomnia.

Of course, let me know if you have any questions. Feel free to ping us at founders@stellarsleep.com

Currently, we are not doing regional pricing, but you can pay for our app using your HSA/ FAS through our partnership with Flex: https://withflex.com/partners/stellar-sleep. We also offer financial assistance plan. Check out https://support.stellarsleep.com/portal/en/kb/articles/is-th.... We will respond to you within 1 business day.

In case this is useful for anyone, you can pay for our app using HSA/ FAS through our partnership with Flex: https://withflex.com/partners/stellar-sleep. There is a 7-day trial with the option of canceling anytime within the app itself. We also have a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you decide at any point within 30 days that the program is not for you, you can get a full refund, no questions asked.

Ok this is super helpful. We do have a FAQ section with the same information (https://stellarsleep.com/faqs) but yes, I totally agree with you. I never even thought that our users might assume that we'll be selling ads or their personal data so this is very useful context. FWIW, we take privacy very seriously and we're HIPPA compliant. In fact, we do work with several sleep clinics where providers actually refer their patients to our app, so we have very strict protections when it comes to personal data and PHI.

We are still in the process of improving the survey, so your feedback is super valuable. So far, we have been over-indexing on helping our users figure out the severity of their insomnia and their sleep habits so we can create a personalized program.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of information will be helpful for you? We thought of including a flow chart showing what you'll be doing each week (e.g. dealing with a racing mind, cognitive restructuring, stimulus control, sleep restriction etc.) on the program, and also some of the information in https://stellarsleep.com/science. Do you think that will be helpful?

Thanks for the feedback! We're definitely interested in exploring a freemium model. Currently, what we offer is a 7-day trial, with the option of canceling anytime within the app itself. We also have a 30-day moneyback guarantee, so if you decide at any point within 30 days that the program is not for you, you can get a full refund, no questions asked.

Thank you for your feedback! The reason why we needed your email is because we generate your sleep report and your personalized program asynchronously in our backend, but we can definitely consider showing some of the results immediately after the quiz without gating it. That being said, we promise not to spam (on average we send no more than 3 emails to users who stop engaging), and you can always unsubscribe from our mailing list.

Yes of course. After you fill up the survey, we will be able to recommend a personalized program for you that's tailored to your sleep habits.

The way it works is everyday, you will spend 5 - 10 minutes completing modules related to sleep/ psychology. These modules can be video or text based and is based on cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which is the first-line treatment recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

You also record your sleep on the app, so we can further personalize your program and also apply an algorithm to analyze your sleep patterns and adjust your bedtime automatically to improve your overall sleep quality.

You can learn more on https://stellarsleep.com/science.

Our app is recommended for 18yo and above. Hope this answers your question!