Can’t fall asleep? Try breathing, says tech

Lots of gadgets claim to accurately track your sleep, but can they put you to sleep? That’s what 2breathe, a new chest-strap-and-app system, is supposed to do.

2breathe, which is made by an Israeli company of the same name, relies on a torso sensor to measure your breathing. Then, after sharing your respiration rate to a mobile app via Bluetooth, it will gradually guide you to “prolonged exhalation and slow breathing.” And then, before you can even begin to wonder whether you should use a gadget to fall asleep when studies have shown clear links between electronic devices and a lack of sleep, boom! — you’re relaxed into sleep. Once you’re asleep, the system shuts off and will generate a falling-asleep-tracking report for you.

To be sure, there are other devices out there that claim to monitor your breathing and help calm you down. Spire, a kind of Fitbit for stress, comes to mind. But the 2breathe system borrows technology from the company’s original product, RESPeRATE (the “e” must be silent), which the company says is the world’s first FDA-cleared, non-drug hypertension treatment device. According to 2breathe, some users of RESPeRATE have been prone to falling asleep while using the device, which spawned the idea for the 2breathe sleep gadget.

Here’s something that might make you lose sleep: 2breathe, which is compatible with iOS devices, sells for $180 on the company’s website. Let’s hope that translates to a lot of zzzs.