After their highly successful 2013 product Sprayable Energy, Silicon Valley startup Sprayable are back with a new product involving transdermal technology – ‘Sprayable Sleep’. It is the world’s first topical melatonin spray that helps you fall asleep naturally and wake up refreshed.
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While melatonin pills have long since been used to treat sleep related disorders, the makers of Sprayable Sleep claim it has several benefits over the pills. Ben Yu, 22, and his partner Devan Soni, 35, say that the effectiveness of the hormone in the pill form could be lost to the digestive process, but this doesn’t happen with the spray.
“Sprayable gives you the exact level of melatonin you need (often 30 times less than you ingest with pills) and delivers it gradually over time – mimicking how your body naturally produces and uses melatonin,” the creators said. “Sprayable Sleep puts you in control of your sleep. Whether you’re traveling and have jet lag or are working the night shift, Sprayable will help you get sleep when you want so you’re refreshed and alert when you need it most.”
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Each bottle contains 60 sprays, which is thirty uses, or a month’s supply with regular use. It basically has three ingredients – melatonin, tyrosine (a derivative of an amino acid) and distilled water. All you need to do is spritz it twice on your neck just an hour before you go to bed, and wait for your eyelids to become heavier. The spraying frequency can be altered based on individual response.
At $15 for a 5ml bottle, Sprayable Sleep, just like Sprayable Energy, doesn’t require any kind of approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Industry, because it is classified as an over-the-counter cosmetic. Both sprays are patent-pending though. Yu and Soni have put up their innovative product on crowdfunding website Indiegogo, and so far they’ve raised over $100,000, greatly exceeding their goal of $15,000 in a little over a week.
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“This is just incredible,” Yu said. “We can’t believe all the support we’re getting. We are truly floored by all the support, kind words, and backers.”
The positive feedback is rather understandable, given that over 70 million Americans suffer from sleep related disorders. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the spray could certainly help alleviate the problem. Of course, the long-term effects of its use remain unknown. The American Cancer Society has pointed out that melatonin may interact with blood-thinning medicines and with medications for diabetes or seizures, so it’s probably best to consult a doctor before beginning the use of melatonin.
Yu agrees that he doesn’t want people to depend on his product. “You try to live your life as well as you can without these things, you try to limit artificial light and get enough sleep,” he said. “But in those times where you can’t, or you travel and you have jet lag, it’s the perfect time to use something like this to really train your body to get back on schedule.”