Most snoring remedies are focused on nighttime tactics: a breathing apparatus on the face, or an elbow in a partner's ribs. But a Twin Cities startup is taking an altogether different approach — shaped like a water bottle.
Eagan-based REMastered Sleep says its REMplenish water bottle can improve the sleep of snorers by strengthening muscles in the tongue and throat with the use of a specialized nozzle.
Since launching the product in December, REMastered Sleep has sold over $65,000 worth of REMplenish products. And more than a quarter of its customers are health care professionals, including sleep doctors, dentists and speech therapists, according to the company.
REMastered Sleep Founder and CEO Anders Olmanson was a mechanical design engineer at Medtronic when he decided to focus on finding a solution for snoring while completing a Master of Science in medical device innovation at the University of Minnesota.
An estimated 45% of adults snore occasionally, while 25% snore regularly enough to disturb their partners sleep, according to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Snoring is caused when soft tissues in the upper airway vibrate during sleep. Popular remedies attempt to cure snoring by manipulating the airway, either by blowing air down the throat in the case of a CPAP machine, or adjusting the jaw with a mouthguard.
While studying at a sleep clinic, Olmanson watched patients with severe cases of obstructed sleep apnea (OSA) refuse CPAP therapy. This led him to form a team to begin researching ways people with OSA could exercise the muscles in their airway.
Olmanson's light bulb moment came while he was watching his parent's dog lick peanut butter out of a rubber toy.
"She's doing this exercise without even realizing its exercise," he recalled thinking. That realization led him to engineer a way to exercise the soft palette while drinking water.
A usability survey completed by the company last summer found 93% of snorers improved after using the REMplenish, and 34% reported improvements in tiredness, a key symptom of sleep apnea.
The company has applied for a Small Business Innovation Research grant through the Small Business Administration. It drafted its application through participating in MN Tech's SBIR Accelerator.
If that grant is awarded, the company plans on conducting a clinical study proving the REMplenish is effective at treating sleep apnea.
The local startup ecosystem has been beneficial to REMastered Sleep in other ways. The company has received a business operations grant from Launch MN and was recently a semi-finalist for the MN Cup.
Olmanson said the experience in the MN Cup, the state's largest startup competition, helped the company find mentors and forced it to be more strategic.
Olmanson is now waiting for the product to catch fire in the medical community, considering its simplicity and benefits.
"We see this as a proactive health tool," Olmanson said. "Why would you drink out of a normal water bottle, when you could drink out of a REMplenish water bottle and keep your upper airway healthy?"
