THIM

Anyone who suffers from poor sleep patterns knows the terrible and ongoing effects it can have.

To tackle this prevalent health issue, a team of researchers and scientists from Flinders University recently helped develop a highly innovative new wireless sleep aid called Thim.

The first sleep solution of its kind in the world, Thim includes a small, lightweight wearable tracking device which connects wirelessly to an app on the user’s smartphone.  

Thim aims to re-train poor sleepers and help them get a better night’s sleep by waking them as they start to doze off. The user simply wears the tracking device on their finger whenever they go to bed, and selects the ‘Start Sleep Re-Training’ option on their smartphone app.

The Thim device then works on its own to determine when the user is awake or asleep. As soon as the user moves into a light sleep stage, Thim gently wakes them by vibrating, and gives feedback about how quickly they fell asleep. It then allows the user to fall asleep again repeating this process several times. The gentle waking must be done within 60 seconds of falling asleep and only the incredible accuracy of Thim’s sleep tracking makes this possible.

As sleep drive increases over time, the user falls asleep quicker and quicker. This re-training to fall asleep quickly has been shown in clinical trials to last at least up to six months.

This innovative technique, and technology, is the culmination of three, extensive sleep-based research projects run by Flinders University.

Flinders University’s Emeritus Professor Leon Lack is an internationally renowned sleep psychologist, public educator, and inventor of the Re-Timer light therapy device. He was also one of the key members of the team responsible for the research behind Thim, and believes the new device has the potential to considerably improve life for poor sleepers.

“Thim is based on ten years of university research which has revealed a better and drug-free way of improving sleep. Also, for the first time, Thim allows our research to be translated into the home environment,” he says.

As part of this sleep re-training feature, Thim’s smartphone app also includes a ‘results’ section, where users can review their sleep, track their progress and share their results with friends.

Thim also has a ‘power nap’ feature, which allows the wearer to take the ‘perfect power nap’. According to the research, the secret of the perfect nap is to sleep for exactly ten minutes. Sleeping for more than 20 minutes leaves you feeling groggy upon waking, and sleeping for five minutes provides no benefit. Thim provides this accurate measurement for the first time, detecting exactly when you’ve fallen into the first, lightest stage of sleep.

“Thim has the potential to benefit so many people around the world, and from our own research, we know it works,” adds Professor Lack.

For more information or to pre-order THIM visit thim.io

Further information

Thim