In this blog post, I am going to review the Aurora Dream-Enhancing Headband by iWinks. The review will be a combination of my own opinion and experience, third party reviews from other authoritative websites, and customers reviews (mainly from Amazon).
The review will consider the following criteria:
- Design and comfort
- Level of Customization
- Technology
- User-Friendly Experience
- Cost and Value
This post is part of a series of articles reviewing lucid dream masks. If you want to know more about the topic, make sure you also read the following blog posts:
- Remee Lucid Dream Mask Review
- REMDreamer Pro Review
- Mindfold Relaxation Sleeping Mask Review
- NeuroOn Mask Review
However, before going through the review, let's briefly talk about lucid dreaming in general and lucid dreaming masks in particular.
What is Lucid Dreaming?
Lucid dreaming is a phenomenon in which a person becomes aware that they are dreaming while they are still in the dream state.
This can allow you, the dreamer, to have some control over the dream, such as the ability to change the dream's plot or manipulate the environment.
If you want to know more about this, make sure you read my other article:
What is a Lucid Dreaming Mask?
A lucid dreaming mask is a device using light cues to induce lucid dreams during REM sleep, providing dreamers with a way to master dream recall and control.
And now, let's look at the Aurora Dream-Enhancing Headband.
Aurora Dream-Enhancing Headband Review
The Aurora is a headband that plays special lights and sounds during REM to help you become aware that you are dreaming as you stay asleep - allowing you to take control of your dreams!
Like the Remee mask, this project also started on Kickstarter, where Daniel Schoonover, 33, iCEO and cofounder of iWinks, the company behind the headband, raised over $239,000 from an initial request of $90,000.
1. Design and Comfort
There isn't really much to say about design and comfort of the Aurora headband. Being a headband rather than an actual lucid dreaming mask, this might suggest a slightly higher level of comfort.
In the words of iWinks via Kickstarter.com:
Their [Warrior Engineering] experience designing headwear ensured our design would be comfortable for everyone’s unique head size and shape, while guaranteeing our LEDs would reach the eyes with light tube technology. Together we landed on a beautiful enclosure design for the Aurora.
2. Customization
Similarly to the Remee mask, the Aurora headband allows you to customize the lights’ colours and flashing patterns, and adjust their brightness.
In addition, you can choose to use sounds to set a mood for your dreams, which are played through the phone app.
3. Technology
The Aurora headband is able to track your sleep phases, detecting when you are entering REM sleep, which is the phase where people almost exclusively dream (source: Sciencefocus.com):
The Aurora watches you while you sleep, so it knows when you’re entering rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and hence are most likely to dream. It monitors your brainwaves and eye movements, and uses an accelerometer to tell when you’re moving least and hence in deep sleep.
Once you enter REM sleep, the headband starts sending a series of audiovisual cues, like flashing lights, whose job is to let you know that you are dreaming so that you can take control of your experience.
The headband comes along with a phone app connected via Bluetooth (source: Newatlas.com):
The phone app (which will be available for either iOS or Android) can also be used to store and manage EEG data, as well as acting as a platform for future third party apps. It also has an alarm clock which can provide a gentle wake-up call by waiting for the lightest phase of sleep.
4. User-Friendly Experience
According to Ian Wallace, author of The Top 100 Dreams, the Aurora headband doesn't fully deliver on its promises (source: Sciencefocus.com):
"If learning to lucid dream is like riding a bike, then this device is like training wheels,” he says. “Getting the right light intensity will take a bit of trial and error, especially as how lightly you sleep varies from night to night.”
Like for many other devices, lucid dreaming won't happen right away. It's always going to take a sometime-steep learning curve of trial and error. Again, in the words of Ian Wallace via Sciencefocus.com:
The key thing with lucid dreaming is you need to train yourself psychologically, and a device like this can’t replace that. The Aurora may help, sometimes, but don’t expect it to do all the work for you.
5. Cost and Value
The initial price tag was quite high at $299. Having said that, I couldn't find the mask available anywhere except for a listing on eBay, where it's on sale for...$9.95 (please note this listing might be old or expired).
The Verdict
The Aurora Dream-Enhancing Headband doesn't strike me as a particularly innovative mask. Besides detecting REM sleep, which many other masks already do, it doesn't add much to the mix other than the option of adding a sound cue.
Design, comfort or user-experience don't stand out either from the other lucid dreaming inducers.
If you consider that the price tag for such a device is a quite high $299, the average lucid dreamer might want to direct her attention to other, more affordable options, like the Remee lucid dream mask.
References
Looking for a more affordable lucid dreaming mask? Why not giving Remee a try!
The Remee Lucid Dream Mask
$75.00 $29.99 (Offer available until stock lasts)
We created the Lucid Dreaming Mask to make lucid dreaming as easy and straight-forward as possible, so that everyone could have their opportunity to explore the beautiful world of their dreams. Our mask is designed to help you realize you're asleep by displaying soft LED light signals after you go to sleep. These signals will show up in your field of view, even in a dream; helping to unlock the world of lucidity, where everything is possible!
Learn More