Sensorwake Oria improves your quality of sleep with scents

Sensorwake created an olfactory alarm clock last year. And now it is announcing Oria, a device that uses scents to improve your quality of sleep.

The device is being unveiled at CES 2017, the big tech trade show in Las Vegas this week. We all know that we don’t get enough sleep, and studies say this deficit affects our memory, behavior, health, energy and stress levels, and reactivity.

That is why Sensorwake created Oria, a smart, intuitive, and non-intrusive device that claims to recharge our personal batteries using the power of smell.

Above: Sensorwake Oria

Image Credit: Sensorwake

Sensorwake, based in Nantes, France, worked with Swiss fragrance and flavors leader Givaudan. The result is the first device on the market that designs fragrances around learnings embodied in a Givaudan patent describing sleep-enhancing scents.

These patented fragrances have been developed using scientific studies from Givaudan and a world-renowned sleep center to help you relax, fall asleep faster, and sleep better and longer.

Oria uses two patented scents: one that helps you relax and fall asleep faster, another that helps you stay in deep-phase sleep for better sleep quality. The fragrance design is based on a set of formulation rules and on brain responses defined by clinical studies, EEG tests, sleep diaries, and use of Philips Actiwatch.

Sensorwake said the scents were chosen based on links to our emotions and childhood memories related to peaceful relaxation. The first scent releases aromas of powdered rose, peach, and pear, with notes of talc and musk that give it a reassuring quality. The second perfume evokes fresh linen, with notes of soap and sandalwood, and is a more milky and familiar scent.

“Sleep has always been key in our lives, but more and more people sacrifice sleep for work, hobbies, etc. We know it’s going to be a strategic topic for years to come,” said Chris Thoen, head of science and technology at Givaudan, in a statement. “Our in-house team of neuroscientists and partner universities work continuously with our fragrance development teams to elaborate the best of research on scents, bring them to the market, and impact the sleep quality of millions.”

Oria uses recyclable capsules that last for two months of daily use. The device sits on your nightstand, while the capsules and fans do the rest. Oria works on its own, but the next version will be able to connect the device to sleep trackers (apps, wristbands, etc.) to adapt to your different sleep phases.

“After using scents to help people wake up in better condition and in a better mood, we brainstormed a lot on the power of smell and what other issue it can solve,” said Guillaume Rolland, the 20-year-old CEO of Sensorwake. “Sleep deprivation can have terrible consequences on health. We all feel it in our everyday lives, and that’s what we want to solve with Oria. ”

Rolland is the French whiz kid who was recognized at the Google Science Fair 2014 in Mountain View, California for a garage-built olfactory alarm clock named one of the Top 15 “inventions that can change the world.”

The company has raised some money but has not disclosed the amount. It has 10 employees.