Device lulls you to sleep with relaxing scents

LAS VEGAS -- Sleep is a precious commodity that every human needs, and a new device promises to help you get it through the power of smell.

Sensorwake has already reached headlines with its quirky alarm clock that releases scents to wake you up, but now the company is trying to do the exact opposite. Oria, unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, is a device that uses two fragrances: one to help you fall asleep and another to help you stay asleep.

The connected device looks sort of like a small humidifier, except instead of releasing vapor, it releases scents that are supposedly designed to help you get a night's rest. Sensorwake teamed up with the Swiss fragrance and flavor company Givaudan as well as the Clinical Sleep Center at Loughborough University to develop the patented smells.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The single button on the device releases a scent described as "powdered rose, peach and pear, with notes of talc and musk." After 30 minutes, the machine kicks over to the second scent designed to keep you in a deep sleep, which releases an odor of "fresh linen with notes of soap and sandalwood." According to Sensorwake, the scents were developed with moments linked to our emotions and peaceful childhood memories to help you relax.

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

So will it actually get you to sleep? There are obviously plenty of factors that will keep a person up at night, and we should all be skeptical of something that promises better sleep. But flipping on a machine that makes it smell pleasant as you drift into unconsciousness seems like a good way to help you relax.

The cost may be a bit steep at $149, but the recyclable cartridges for the two scents cost $7 each, and they're supposed to last for two months.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The Oria is excepted to ship in summer 2017, but the company plans to add in the ability to connect the device to sleep trackers in its next version to help you sleep even better. So, if your tracker senses you aren't sleeping well, Oria can kick it up a notch and help you rest easy.