It’s not just how long you sleep, but also how deeply
In the popular story of Harry Potter, the most famous wizard disciple, there is a certain dangerous and powerful wizard whose name is dangerous to say. In our real world, however, it is paradoxically increasingly dangerous today to talk about magical and generally alternative things and information that not only do no harm, but can, if approached and used correctly, significantly improve the quality of human life. And this is only because they are beyond the understanding or beliefs of the majority, who usually believe only what is said on television. And yet, the colours of life are far more varied than all the various guardians of the one supposed truth may dream.
And while the new EU directive that resulted in last year’s package of consumer protection laws was intended to prevent various traders from offering miracle cures using devices or preparations, even though they cannot prove their effects – which is certainly commendable – the excessive strictness of the new Czech legislation has done the opposite. Namely, it has made life more difficult for technologies that operate on a different principle than the usual one. If we overdo it, it is similar to saying that, in an attempt to protect the market from the sale of medicines that do not cure, it is not even possible to talk about the usefulness of products that work on a principle that Mother Nature herself uses and whose effects have been proven over centuries. Actually, wait a minute, that is not allowed either. Anyway.
Something similarly absurd happened, for example, to the creator of the “cosmic” device Somavedic from Lovosice, North Bohemia, Ivan Rybjansky, who made a machine based on semi-precious stones and a combination of their vibrational abilities, whose task was to eliminate and harmonize various disturbances and deviations in the environment affected by electrosmog, geopathogenic zones or the great civilization threat called oxidative stress. While it is logical that the action of a device that can create harmony in a disturbed environment, riddled with, for example, ubiquitous Wi-Fi radiation, must improve the lives of people in such a space, it is not allowed to talk about it from 2021. Which is a great pity, because – also thanks to the media, which has been following Somavedic’s journey to the hearts of satisfied customers closely for a number of years – more and more people who, for example, do not sleep well because of too much electrosmog, could find out about it.
Despite this inconvenience, however, the most reliable way for other people to learn about Somavedic has all along remained the own experience of an ever-expanding number of users who know that harmony and a more restful sleep are also to be desired.
However, Ivan Rybjansky, who used to have a bunch of health problems himself – but rethought his attitude to life and health in general after he literally ran away from the gravediggers’ shovel – is continuously tackling other challenges in addition to developing and perfecting different models of the device and how to spread it to people. For example, it’s not at all easy to find technologies that can measure Somavedic’s delicate, almost clockwork precision. It’s one thing to see how users feel, but it’s another to determine what specifically caused the positive outcome and how.
One of the other flagships of this type was the collaboration between Somavedic and the American laboratory Jinfinity, which is certified and protected by the FDA, the US Food and Drug Administration (for which Jinfinity even works), which resulted in a second study led by Dr. Jin-Xiong-Sche. “In that first study in 2020 and 2021, the results came out very interestingly in terms of changes in inflammatory parameters of hsCRP. And based on that, Dr Sche, if I put it my way, challenged us: let’s do a study where sleep quality measurements are included. There was a little bit of a problem in that first study in that sleep monitoring devices or some other devices that are able to scan and measure sleep parameters are a very expensive proposition, so it was a long way around. But now I have managed to secure the funds to purchase a high-end Biostrap device, so we have finally gotten down to it,” says Ivan Rybjanský, a devotee of modern and innovative technologies.
The US technology company’s Biostrap device is used by researchers around the world, including, for example, the famous Stanford University, because it enables the use of comprehensive tools to transform the collection and analysis of health data in clinical trials. And because the necessary data is measured by a simple wristband riddled with state-of-the-art sensors, Biostrap seemed to hit the nail on the head.
But there was an unexpected problem. “If you literally tighten the Biostrap device, not so that it bleeds your hand, but so that all the sensors are touching, at that point it senses very well. It’s just that during the study, many people complained that the tightened bracelet made them feel uncomfortable and woke them up when they slept, so they loosened it in various ways. It’s just that when they didn’t have it tightened properly, the Biostrap didn’t read all the data as it should. By not being there and not working with the people directly, I couldn’t keep an eye on it, so I’m not entirely happy about it,” disappointed Ivan Rybjansky, who had invested a lot of energy and resources into the study, so he was expecting more conclusive results.
“Throughout the study, we downloaded weekly averages of each parameter. The overall data suggest that there was a significant positive effect on sleep quality. This is consistent with the participants’ reports. Sleep improved significantly for the majority of participants by reducing the percentage of awake time and the number of waking times, and increasing deep sleep time,” says Dr. Schee.
However, technical problems in using the Biostrap, which, while great, is more of a daytime device, while it has considerable reserves as a nighttime meter, did cause one annoyance. “Because of the unreliability of the Biostrap, the data are complete for only 24 of the 40 subjects and so cannot be described as statistically significant. To be statistically significant, we would have to have, say, 60 people, because when someone drops out of testing or has a technology failure, as in the case of the Biostrap, the result, even if conclusive, cannot be described as statistically significant,” frowns Somavedic’s boss. “A doctor I work with in Switzerland explains it with a bit of hyperbole like this: Suppose one in ten women didn’t have nice legs. But if ten women walk past you, they could all have nice legs. That means that at least twenty to thirty women have to pass by for at least one or two with unattractive legs to be confirmed statistically.”
But if so many people participated, the cost of conducting the research would be so high that a normal, even successful, everyday person could not afford it. This was the reason why Biostrap was chosen for the study, which is of the same quality as the well-known Oura Ring, but with a price tag half as high. That’s already a noticeable difference for dozens of pieces.
The Oura Ring is a smart ring that can monitor body functions not only during sleep and all its phases, but completely throughout the day, and from this collect and evaluate an admirable range of health information. Mr Rybjansky, who owns several pieces, has experience with it. “With the Oura Ring, it turns out that the average length of deep sleep for all people is around 20 minutes during the night. In all the people I have worked with, the Oura Ring measurements have increased that time to at least three times that, but most often to two hours of deep sleep. I myself sleep about five hours every night, but two of those are deep.”
So hasn’t he tried approaching Oura Ring for some larger collaborations that are being offered directly? “They even announced the possibility of creating studios themselves, but it didn’t work out. I even offered them a collaboration in the sense of I’ll endorse and sell you because you’ll endorse me, and you’ll sell me because I’ll clearly improve your clients’ sleep. It’s just that since Karel Komarek’s investment fund invested $2 billion in Oura Ring last year and they got $50 million from investors three years ago, I guess they don’t feel the need to try anymore and there’s no talking to them. It’s probably just business for them.”
So the best thing for Ivan Rybjansky to do would be to get the people who have Biostrap or Oura Ring at home together and do a study of their own. Participants could get better sleep, and they could still measure and calculate it themselves. Would you be up for that? If you would be interested in such an opportunity and want to learn more about Somavedic, go to www.somavedic.uk
