Pur Sleep Trial (for participants)

[dieselgal]

I don't think I would want a chocolate scent or something like cinnamon buns because that would put me in the kitchen raiding the fridge instead of sleeping.
There are a couple of perfume scents that I LOVE and if they could be essential oils I would buy them for sure. Those are TOVA and Amazing Grace.

[SleepyNoMore]

[quote="SleepGuy"]Based on feedback and contacts I've been pursuing outside of the forum, I've decided to add a line of 5-7 new fragrances, all synthetic but very high quality and universally liked.

Candidate "flavors" include:

Cotton Candy or Bubble Gum
Cherry
Coconut or Coconut Cream
Vanilla
Banana or Banana Cream
Root Beer
Chocolate
Grape
Apple

I have listed them generally in order of preference (so far). Out of a few dozen versions of "cherry" I've found one that's particularly good and persistent--it works very well. Same with a cotton candy fragrance I found among many. I like these both quite a bit. It remains to be seen whether I can find a chocolate that's good enough quality to use. The ones I've tried so far aren't that good. But I'm going to keep trying. The most I will add would be seven so I'd appreciate feedback and suggestions as to ones I should consider.

The main idea is to select fragrances that people already know and enjoy. These candidates are used so widely in our society (particularly in candy/pop/suntan oil) that even though they are artificial we all know these fragrances, they are very familiar, and have a high acceptance rate.

One focus of this exercise is the sleep lab setting, as well as pediatric cpap. I think these universal kinds of fragrances will do well in those environments.

Thoughts? Comments?

[WxMan]

I vote for cotton candy...it would take me back to the county fairs of my youth.

It’s a known fact that smell is a unique sense in that it can so immediately bring back memories. I figure that any scent that brings back memories of a relaxed more worry-free time would help put one in the same frame of mind. In a PM to Sleepguy, I told him only half jokingly that if he could capture the smell of fresh backed homemade bread, the memories it would conjure up of my carefree childhood would likely lull me to sleep in short order (unless it tempted me to get up to find and taste that bread). Since I was raised in a western rural background, other scents on that list would include such scents as new-mown hay (not for allergy sufferers), pine, spruce, and cedar.

Sleepguy...have you given any consideration to marketing any of the “wood” scents. I believe I have seen both pine and cedar listed as aromatherapy oils elsewhere. Blend pine and cedar together and add the “waterfall” sound of some of the “white noise” sound machines and you’d have your own outdoor camp spot in your bedroom. If you want the full effect...just put some glow-in-the-dark stars on your ceiling (OK...joking here but seriously think there’s a market for a “wood” scent.)

I was one of the luck participants in Sleepguy’s Pur-Sleep trial. I sent a couple of PMs to him on it and am overdue for summarizing it here. Will do so in a separate post.

[WxMan]

I tried to be as objective as I could in this trial which I have now been on for approximately one month. I have suffered from sleep onset insomnia for years. However, since the introduction of CPAP nearly two years ago I have sleep maintenance issues due to the associated discomfort from the mask, leaks, CPAP noise, etc.

I have kept a daily diary of sleep as well as a printed copy of Encore Pro since beginning this trial a month ago. The diary included the Pur-Sleep oil used, any sleeping medication taken, sleep quality etc.

I have answered the questions Sleepguy posed to the participants in a PM...and did offer a few suggestions. However, most...such as packaging, dispensing methods, instructions, ease of setup, etc. would likely not be of particular interest to forum members. Suffice to say that in regards to these questions, Pur-Sleep is a well-packaged quality product that is pretty much intuitive in its use.

However, some comments may be of interest here so will offer them:

My favorite scent was Spice. It was definitely the strongest of the three and I found that 2 or 3 drops were adequate. I don’t have the best sense of smell and found Clear to be less intense and Peace hardly noticeable...I worked up to 5 drops with each of these.

Interestingly I found that while using my APAP, the apparent smell of all appeared to diminish rather quickly. In less than 2 hours I couldn’t notice either Clear or Peace and Spice had pretty much disappeared. However, take the mask off for more than a few minutes and put it back on and the scents reappeared...though still diminished from the initial scent. If I returned to the bedroom during the day...the scent was readily apparent. The point being that the scent lasts more that is apparent...ones sense of smell diminishes as one becomes accustomed to the scent.

I was hoping to report that Pur-Sleep helped me fall asleep or stay asleep. In honesty, I can’t do that for I have no objective evidence that it has. It does not appear to have lowered my average AHI. Peace, however, may have some benefit in allowing me to fall back asleep after wakening. I awaken several times a night due to mask leaks, etc. and will get up for a few minutes if I don’t readily fall back asleep. As subtle as the smell is and as subjective as this call is, my gut feeling is that Peace does offer some help. So, I would have to say that although Spice is my favorite scent...Peace may well be my favorite oil for that reason.

That prior paragraph in no way should be construed as a criticism of the product. Others have reported more positive effects with Pur-Sleep on sleep and I believe them. To me, Pur-Sleep doesn’t have to have objective proof of helping sleep to be a useful product. It does help the use of CPAP by making its use more comfortable. There is nothing enjoyable about strapping a silicone mask on my face and sleeping next to a small wheezing air compressor all night. Anything that makes the experience more comfortable is a plus. We’re restricted to the four senses of sight, touch, hearing, and smell. CPAP adversely affects touch and hearing...we’ve got our eyes closed so there goes sight...all we’ve got left is smell. It’s the same reason they use flavors in medicine...to make them easier to take. That’s where Pur-Sleep comes in and I will continue to use it for that reason. “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down”.

Thank you Sleepguy for allowing me to be a participant in your trial. I’m still a bit amazed that you were willing to hand out free products to total strangers with no obligation...just the hope (but no guarantee) that they would give you honest feedback..