Price : $149
Purchase at SleepScore Labs
Billed as a sleep improvement system, SleepScore Max is a new standalone contactless sleep monitor and app designed to accurately track your sleep and give you helpful insights on how to improve it.
If you think SleepScore Max looks familiar, you’re right. The device is based on the same core sensor technology as the Resmed S+ (read our detailed S+ review here) which pioneered the use of echo-location technology to monitor your sleep without any physical contact whatsoever.
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Not just about the hardware
SleepScore Max is not just another pretty piece of hardware. The product of SleepScore Labs – a joint venture between Resmed, Dr Mehmet Oz (aka TV’s Dr Oz) and Pegasus Capital Advisors – SleepScore Max is part of the company’s growth plan to use big data analytics to not only improve sleep and consumer health, but eventually provide valuable data to professional healthcare providers.
>> Read our interview with SleepScore Labs CEO Colin Lawlor
SleepScore Labs are positioned well to do this because of Resmed’s unparalleled treasure trove of sleep-related data, gleaned from its existing customer base of people who use Resmed’s sleep apnea devices, CPAP machines and diagnostic equipment.
This means SleepScore Labs has been able to base its machine learning algorithm on Resmed’s archive of over 4 million nights of sleep data. These powerful data analytics resources are the basis of how SleepScore Max is able to give you detailed personalised sleep recommendations.
At a glance
SleepScore Max accuracy
Although SleepScore Max isn’t a medical device, it uses the proprietary SleepScore technology by Resmed which has been validated against polysomnography and actigraphy and this, according to the company makes SleepScore Max “virtually equivalent to clinical grade devices in key dimensions.” Hence SleepScore Max should be one of the more accurate sleep trackers on the market (watch this space for our full SleepScore Max review).
SleepScore Max vs Resmed S+
Like its cousin the S+, SleepScore Max sits on your bedside table and monitors your sleep using low-energy radio waves, about 1/10 the intensity of Bluetooth. In terms of improvements, SleepScore Max has been thoroughly updated, with a new, sleeker industrial design, a brand new app, along with goals, trends and detailed insights and recommendations into your sleep data.
Design and ergonomics
SleepScore Max is covered in industrial chic grey fabric designed to blend in anonymously into most bedrooms. The device needs to be plugged into the mains at all times, and the radio wave technology means it needs to have clear line of sight with your chest in order to detect your breathing and heart-rate. For optimal results you need to position the device at about an arm’s length away from your body
You also need to pair the device with your phone in order to tell the app you’re going to sleep. As yet, there’s no automatic sleep tracking functionality but it’s hoped this will come in future updates.
If you want to use the SleepScore Max to its full potential you’ll have to enter some personal information about your current sleep habits. These lifestyle question give the algorithm a kind of a baseline to work with and are used to calculate your personal sleep recommendations.
In the morning when you wake up, you are given a personal SleepScore based on a scale of 1-100.
Features and software
SleepScore Max contains biosensors that can detect and measure six defined sleep metrics; light sleep, deep sleep, REM sleep, number of awakenings, and time to fall asleep and total sleep time.
There are also sensors that can monitor your bedroom environment giving you readouts of temperature and light – so you can see how these factors affect your sleep too.
There’s also a smart alarm which can wake you at the optimal time in the morning based on your sleep cycle. This will ensure you’re not woken whilst you’re in deep sleep, which can cause morning grogginess, or sleep inertia.
SleepScore Max App
The SleepScore Labs’ app has been totally redesigned to work with the SleepScore Max. the layout is clean and easy to read, giving you immediate feedback on your sleep score, allowing you to drill down into each stage of sleep.
Although you can get immediate readings from the app, to get real insights, the makers say you will need to spend 30 days using the app, after which, the algorithm will be able to give you more accurate feedback.
This feedback comes in the form of your personal sleep guide – actionable science-based insights based on science-based on the analysis of over 2 millions nights of data from Resmed’s archives.
Other features include the ability to set sleep goals and track your weekly progress towards a better night’s sleep.