I have a buddy who has a hard time falling asleep. Like many other senior citizens. (I am not, thankfully, among them!)
And, according to the RAND Organization, those folks aren’t alone. Supposedly, the lack of sleep costs the US economy more than $ 400 billion a year because of lower productivity. Moreover, some 30% of American adults suffer from sleep related issues- with more than 50 million having a sleep disorder that affect their quality of life.
These facts are the driving force behind this new app and company, Dayzz (Herzliya, Israel). Maabarot Products developed this app in December 2017 and the venture is backed by about $ 6 million in venture funding. (Maabarot is the Hebrew term for the refugee absorption camps that prevailed in the 1950s; this firm was established in 1963, when the last absorption camp folded. Maabarot develops and sells a variety nutrition and health products.)
Dayzz Live Well Ltd, a spin-off from Maabarot, is not an app directed at you and me- instead, it is being marketed directly to employers. The app relies upon a sleep assessment (along with the economic impact of same), a sleep monitoring device (mobile light and noise sensors and phone usage, among other sensors like FitBit), and a remote sleep trainer. (It is also integrated with Garmin wearable devices.)
The sleep training app addresses a multitude of sleep issues, based upon evidence-based protocols. After the initial sleep assessment (sleep is monitored over a 24 hour period), the program provides guidelines (continually refined) for day and night activities and other environmental factors.
The sleep tracker monitors when the user went to sleep, how long it took them to fall asleep, how often they awoke during the night, among other factors. While it is not explicit, this should mean Dayzz monitors the number of (roughly 90 minute) sleep cycles, including the 3 main stages (light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep) and how they change through the cycles (there’s more REM sleep portions as the number of cycles increase).
My problem? Even though I want to know more about the quality of my sleep- and improve upon it if possible- I am not sure I would be willing to share said data with my employer at all.
Because it’s MY data.
That’s perilously close to violating the laws protecting people from their employer having access to their medical information! Not okay.
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Hmm. Why do you think there are laws that preclude employers from accessing this data? They are precluded from sharing it- but given the fact that they provide health insurance and other such benefits, it is the norm and not the exception that they have such data.
I wouldn’t like that part, either! But if you could use it without having to report the info to anyone other than your doctor, that could be very valuable info to have.
I will be sharing another tale about those tests you think are yours alone. Surprise- they ain’t. And, given the amount of money involved in this deal, I can see the data being sold.
I agree with you, Roy. I’m deliberate about what I share, and I would be very selective on what I’d share with an employer, regardless of what the data showed. Interesting app, though…
Lori Ferguson recently posted..Volunteer with your daughter – 27 options!
The problem, Lori, is that some states allow employers to require these sort of things (like enforced gym attendance and health ‘counseling’).
Hmmm, I think I stick with me reading until I get so tired I fall asleep with my tablet. I wouldn’t want to share it with my employer either, if I had one.
Sounds like a plan to me. (You’ll be pleased to note that new research shows that the light from our computer devices is not as hazardous to our sleep patterns as many had claimed.)
I would not want to have still another app tracking me. It’s bad enough I have a wellness app as a ‘work benefit‘ and they pinky swear the data is private. Sure it is, I know from reading your posts. I have a choice about using it. These apps are getting increasingly creepy, though,
The problem is when your employer hands you the app and tells you to use it…. Then, what, Alana?