SleepPhones Main Release

For: SleepPhones FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SLEEPLESS IN AMERICA: CDC SAYS INSUFFICIENT SLEEP IS A PUBLIC

HEALTH EPIDEMIC, POSING HAZARDS ON THE ROAD AND AT WORK

- SleepPhones provide a comfortable, soothing approach that makes it easy, convenient and enjoyable to plug in, chill out and cut some serious z's-

BELLEFONTE, Pa. - According to the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, insufficient sleep has become a public health epidemic in America.

Whether we are awakened in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, or struggle for hours reliving the events of the day, inadequate sleep is not merely frustrating and annoying, it's often downright dangerous.

Estimates from the U.S. Department of Transportation indicate fatalities involving "drowsy driving" takes the lives of 1,550 people and 40,000 others suffer nonfatal injuries in accidents every year. Sleep insufficiency has been linked to serious medical mistakes, industrial disasters, falling productivity and a variety of hazardous outcomes. The Institute of Medicine estimates that 50 to

70 million men and women in America have sleep or wakefulness disorders. The

CDC reports that people who get insufficient sleep are more likely to have chronic diseases, including hypertension, depression, diabetes, obesity, and cancer.

"I was one of those 50 to 70 million adults," said Wei-Shin Lai, M.D., inventor of SleepPhones and founder of AcousticSheep LLC. "When I was on call at the hospital emergency room, I frequently received calls in the middle of the night about patients. Whenever that happened, it was virtually impossible for me to get back to sleep because I could not get my mind free of concerns about my patients. It was a serious problem and I needed a solution."

-more-

SLEEPLESS IN AMERICA 2-2-2

Dr. Lai's husband recommended listening to something to get her mind off her patients. Not wanting to disturb her husband's sleep, she knew that bulky headphones and uncomfortable ear buds were out. The doctor's idea for overcoming her problem was to put speakers into a soft, comfortable headband.

"We tried a lot of approaches with different equipment. Eventually, we found very thin high quality speakers, bought super soft fleece, and began sewing and soldering," explained Dr. Lai. "It worked great, so we decided it was such a great invention that we had to share it with millions of others who had trouble getting to sleep."

Specifically designed to help people fall asleep, SleepPhones are the most comfortable sleep headphones for use in bed or when traveling on a plane, train or bus. The patented headband headphones plug directly into virtually any music player, enabling the user to listen to anything they like, including music favorites or sounds that utilize binaural beats technology to soothe and calm brainwaves, gently lulling one to sleep.

SleepPhones provides a number of free downloads with binaural beats technology for MP3s on its website: www.sleepphones.com.

There's a convenient app for the iPhone, as well.

Chronic insomniacs have restored good sleep habits with SleepPhones and no longer need to take sleeping pills. Sleeping next to snoring partners is easy with SleepPhones. If one partner wants to listen to music or an audio book while the other wants peace and quiet, SleepPhones makes it simple. They are so comfortable, SleepPhones are called "pajamas for your ears."

SleepPhones are ideal for outdoor winter activities, too. The headband headphones are great for listening and keeping ears warm while shoveling snow,

-more-

SLEEPLESS IN AMERICA 3-3-3 hiking, running or jogging.

Dr. Wei-Shin Lai and her partner Jason Wolfe founded SleepPhones. Their unique, patented, first-of-a-kind, patented headband headphones are manufactured in Pennsylvania. Designed with user comfort, quality and environmental responsibility in mind, SleepPhones' fleece headbands are made of

88 percent recycled plastic bottles by Polartec ® in the USA.

All of the electronics in the SleepPhones are RoHS compliant, which means they are free of lead and other dangerous heavy metals. SleepPhones' headquarters uses 100 percent renewable energy from wind power.

Readers who would like to learn more about SleepPhones, should visit the company's website: www.sleepphones.com

.

# # #

EDITOR'S NOTE: To arrange to speak with Dr. Wei-Shin Lai, or for more information about SleepPhones, please contact Casey Macioge at 312-339-7488 or [email protected]

.

ABOUT ACOUSTICSHEEP LLC

Founded in 2007, AcousticSheep LLC manufactures and markets SleepPhones® and

RunPhones ®, innovative headphones with thin padded speakers sewn in soft comfortable headbands. Invented by Wei-Shin Lai, M.D., CEO, and her husband, Jason

Wolfe, Chief Technology Officer, patented SleepPhones are specifically designed to help promote sound sleep and an aid in overcoming insomnia and second-hand snoring.

RunPhones were introduced in 2010 to provide a solution for runners whose ear buds frequently fall out and to wick away perspiration. Both products have received significant praise from the media, are available in 50 countries around the world and sales continue to exceeded expectations. Headquartered in Bellefonte, Pa.,

AcousticSheep has maintained strong standards of environmental and social responsibility in both manufacturing and company operations since its inception. For more information about the company, please visit www.sleepphones.com

.