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Dodow Review
UPDATED January 2020
Get the Sleep That You So Desperately Need
Total Rating: 4.5
4.5/5
BOTTOM LINE: This simple device is easy to use and can help you fall asleep faster and wake rested in the morning. It is suitable for those dealing with insomnia and anyone who is six years old or older.
PROS: Designed by insomniacs and for insomniacs, the Dodow is a handy device that functions as a metronome to help you get the sleep that you need. It shuts itself off at the end of a session too.
CONS: Some customers had problems using the touch interface to turn on the device. As with other sleep aids, it didn’t work for all customers either.
What is the Dodow?
The only thing worse than waking up after a rough night might be trying to fall asleep the night before. There are a number of reasons why you might have problems sleeping, including stress at work or that extra cup of coffee you had that afternoon. You may find that you have issues sleeping throughout the night too and that you keep waking up for no reason. Dodow is a handy device that you can use to finally fall asleep and get those precious hours that you so desperately need. This is a new gadget that is part of the emerging sleep technology field, which includes products designed for all types of sleepers.
Dodow is unlike any of those other gadgets though because it actually helps you regulate your breathing. Have you ever laid in bed at night and felt your heart pounding in your chest and your breathing coming out ragged? This can happen because you do not know how to calm your breathing, which is an important part of getting the sleep that you need. Though Dodow reviews are mixed at best, many users found that it actually helped them fall asleep easier and faster than anything they ever tried before.
How Does Dodow Work?
Before spending money on a sleep gadget, you’ll likely want to know how it works. Dodow is one of the easiest devices to use because it doesn’t require a lot of set up or space. When you turn on the device, it produces a bright blue light that it then projects directly onto your ceiling. As you lay in bed, you will stare up at that light. The light will slowly expand and become much bigger before contracting down to a smaller point. While watching the light, you need to focus your breathing to match the light. The first time that you use it, wait until the light hits the ceiling. As it contracts, breathe in slowly. You’ll then exhale as the light expands.
The general idea behind the Dodow is that you will focus your breathing on the light and bring your body back to a natural rhythm. This will slow down your breathing rate, which will, in turn, slow down your heart rate. The device has two different settings that you can use to determine how long you focus on each session. You can choose between an eight-minute or a 20-minute session. Dodow will turn itself off at the end of the session every night.
Reasons for Sleep Problems
Stress is the most common reason why you can’t sleep at night. The stress that you feel at work can carry over into your personal life when you come home at night and lead to fights between you and your spouse. You may even find yourself taking out some of those frustrations on your children and friends. Some people experience sleep troubles because of the people they live with too. If you share a bedroom with someone who snores or talks in his or her sleep, the chances are good that you either aren’t getting the sleep that you need or that you can’t stay asleep all night. You might hear others moving through your house too such as your kids playing games or talking on their phones.
Hormone changes can also impact your sleep patterns. If your body slows down its production of the hormones that you need, you can expect to have problems falling asleep at night. You may want to talk with your doctor and undergo some tests before deciding on the right type of treatment for a hormonal imbalance. Even if there are multiple people living in your home who all have a different sleep schedule, you can still use the Dodow to fall asleep quickly.
Other Reasons You Can't Sleep
- You had too much caffeine the day before
- There are too many electronics and blue lights in your bedroom
- You are still hungry
- The bed you sleep on isn't comfortable
- There are too many noises in the room
Dodow Instructions
Dodow is a simple device with a touchscreen that lets you use it without fumbling around for any buttons or switches. The first time that you use it, you’ll need to add the batteries that came with it. It takes just a few seconds to slip the batteries into the compartment and to turn on the device. You’ll want to start with the battery on the left or right side and then insert the battery that sits in the middle. That middle battery forms the connection that powers on the device. You should make sure that you hold the Dodow in your hands without touching the screen though.
When you turn the device over, you’ll want to wait at least two seconds before touching it. You should see a light come on that tells you the batteries work and then a second light that lets you know it has a signal. Once you see both lights, you can use the touchscreen to turn on the gadget and set the length of the session that you want to use. If you have any problems using the device, try turning it over and removing the batteries. You’ll need to give the device a few seconds before you insert the batteries and try again.
Insomnia and Its Symptoms
Many people say they suffer from insomnia when they just have a few rough nights. If you stayed up late to play that new video game and slept in the next day, you can expect to have problems falling back into your old sleep patterns the next night. Insomnia is a serious medical condition that can affect your overall health. Short-term or acute insomnia is a condition that lasts for a few weeks or less. Your doctor might recommend sleeping pills to help you get through that rough patch, or you may want to look at other areas of your body if you are experiencing pain. If you have leg or back pain, take a look at the mindsole. If you experience sleep troubles for a month or more, your doctor might diagnose you with long-term insomnia.
Long-term insomnia can cause a number of symptoms, including:
- Waking up during the night or before you wanted to in the morning
- Getting the sleep that you wanted but still feeling groggy
- Suffering from depression and/or anxiety
- Experiencing multiple accidents and mistakes during the day
- Worrying that you may never get enough sleep again
Insomniacs can suffer from this medical condition over the course of different periods. Some people get back on a set schedule and then begin having issues again in the future. Dodow is one of the few sleep gadgets on the market that can help with insomnia.
Leading Causes of Insomnia
- Stress at home and/or work
- Acid reflux and other medical conditions
- No set sleep schedule
- Poor nighttime habits
- Jet lag
How to Use Dodow
Dodow works best with those who sleep on their backs. As you need to direct the light onto the ceiling and stare at it, you need to be on your back. Since it comes with batteries, you do not need to find an available outlet before you can set up the gadget. We found that most users place it on their nightstands or their bedside tables. You’ll want to make sure that it has a clear line of sight between the touchscreen and the ceiling though. This may require moving some of the things in your bedroom, including any lamps or clocks that you use and your cell phone charger.
Before using the device, you should test it first. It’s helpful to get into the same spot where you usually sleep. You can turn it on and select a session length before placing it right on the nightstand. Once you lay down, look directly towards the ceiling and check for the light. If you cannot see that light, you may need to move the device to a new spot. You must make sure that you can clearly see the light without any other distractions getting in the way and that you can see it as it both expands and contracts.
Dodow Price
The price that you’ll pay for the Dodow depends on where you decide to buy it. HSN, which is the Home Shopping Network, offers it for sale online and on specials that air on the network. You can purchase it for one flat rate or sign up for flex pay, which requires that you send three payments to the company. When you buy from a secondary source though, you’ll also pay for shipping and handling. This can add as much as $10 to the cost of the device itself.
We highly recommend buying the product from Amazon. Amazon offers the Dodow for a low price of just $60 and offers free shipping to Prime members. As a Prime member, you can get online orders delivered to your door in just two days without paying any extra. You also get access to a large film and television show library and some discounts. Amazon also offers a money back guarantee for those who buy this or other sleep gadgets and aren’t happy. If you find that you don’t get the results you expected, you can return the gadget for a refund. Amazon will also cover any packages that are lost or stolen.
Benefits of Using the Dodow
- Change states: Making the transition from playing with your kids or watching television to falling asleep is difficult. Dodow makes it easy for you to make this transition and to get into a state of rest.
- Increase melatonin production: Your body naturally produces melatonin, which helps you fall asleep. Many different companies now make supplements that you can take to increase your production too. When you use the Dodow, it will help slow down your metabolism and increase your melatonin to help you fall asleep in minutes.
- Change brain waves: If you head to bed immediately after finishing a chapter in a new book or an episode of your favorite television show, you’ll find that your brain waves still move at a rapid rate. This can make it nearly impossible for you to fall asleep. Dodow will actually slow down your brain waves and reach a state where rest is possible.
- Eliminate distractions: Though you can try focusing on your breathing without this device, you may find that this is quite difficult. If you have a snoring spouse in bed next to you or a dog that loves kicking in its sleep, those distractions can take over your mind. Dodow gives you something physical that you can concentrate on to ignore those distractions.
Who's This for?
Dodow is a gadget that is suitable for anyone who has troubles falling asleep. Though you might think that you can get by on just a few hours of sleep every night, this can lead to sleep deprivation and cause some serious problems. When you deprive yourself of the sleep that you need, you do not give your cells time to recover from injuries or your brain time to calm down from the day before. The longer that you go without getting enough sleep, the more symptoms you’ll experience. Sleep deprivation can cause you to make simple mistakes at work such as adding numbers wrong or sending an email to the wrong client. You might even have problems doing simple tasks, including shopping for groceries or driving home at the end of the day.
The manufacturer of the gadget also recommends it for those who suffer from jet lag. When you change time zones on a business trip or a family vacation, you’ll often have a hard time getting back to your regular schedule. This device is great for helping you get back on track. It’s so small that you can even take the Dodow with you on vacation to get enough sleep for all the sightseeing that you want to do.
Tips for Getting Sleep on a Flight
- Wear a sleep mask to block out any fluorescent lights
- Use headphones to listen to soothing music
- Practice deep breathing before you sleep
- Get as comfortable as possible in your seat
- Do a few stretches to relax your muscles
Should You Buy it?
The world of sleep technology is relatively new. Companies and developers only recently found that people would pay money for tools that would help them sleep better and actually fall asleep. You’ll find other gadgets such as white noise machines and apps that play soothing sounds, but if you still can’t get enough sleep, you should seriously consider spending money on the Dodow. This device costs a fraction of what other sleep tools do and creates a more natural response in your body. With regular use, you may even learn how to control your breathing and get to sleep faster without using the gadget.
We also recommend Dodow because it’s one of the easiest gadgets to use. With a white noise machine, you need to select the type of noise that you want to hear and then select the volume. You may even need to set up a timer that tells the machine when to turn off. Dodow is much easier to use because it requires that you insert the batteries and touch the screen just once or twice. If you touch it once, it will run for eight minutes, but it runs for 20 minutes when you tap it twice. Anyone looking for a natural way to fall asleep will appreciate this gadget.
Types of White Noise
- Machines that use nature sounds, including waves crashing against the shore and wildlife
- Audiobooks that you listen to as you fall asleep
- Songs that you play on a music player or tablet
- Shows or films that you let run on television
The Competition: Dodow Alternative Gadgets
The most common Dodow alternative is a white noise machine. The most popular machines produce soft sounds that you can play as you drift off at night. You can select from different settings based on both the sounds that you want to hear and the volume that you need. The HealthE Good Night LED Sleep Enhancing Bulb is another product you might want to try. This bulb both changes and diffuses the amount of light produced by your bedside lamp. It can increase your production of melatonin and help you drift away quickly. If you prefer a more modern gadget, you might try the 2breathe Sleep Inducer, which has some good reviews on Amazon. This set comes with a belt that you wear and an app that you use on your phone. It helps you focus on your breathing as you fall asleep.
While there are some solid competitors to the Dodow, none of the products that we found work in the same way. Dodow not only helps you focus your breaths, but it also gives you a light that you can watch as you breathe, which helps you avoid anything and anyone in the room. Though some think Dodow is a little pricey, it’s much less expensive than some of the alternatives.
Natural Ways to Fall Asleep Faster
- Try sleeping in a room that is colder than usual
- Run a fan in the room to produce some white noise and keep the room cool
- Avoid any distractions at least one hour before bed, including the television and computer
- Do at least 10 minutes of exercise before laying down
- Take a hot shower before you go to bed
Dodow Pros
More than 30% of Americans admit that they do not get the sleep that they need. Though you can use over the counter and prescription sleeping pills, you can develop an addiction to or a dependence on those drugs. Melatonin is a natural supplement that you can take, but it can cause nightmares if you take it regularly. The developers of Dodow wanted to create a sleep technology gadget that did not produce any side effects and a device that almost anyone could use. You should look at some of the pros we found when deciding whether to purchase it.
Ease of Use
The total amount of sleep that you need each night can vary from six hours to more than 10 hours. It depends on your age and your general health as well as some other factors. If you want to get more sleep but don’t want to deal with cords or buttons, the Dodow is a great choice for you. This device is so easy to use that you can set it up and run a session each night before jumping into bed. Dodow reviews often point out that it doesn’t require a lot of space and that it requires just one or two touches to set it up.
Your Choice of Session Lengths
Not everyone falls asleep as quickly as everyone else does. You might have a spouse who falls asleep almost as soon as his or her head hits the pillow while you spend hours tossing and turning. Dodow gives you the option of picking the session length that works best for you based on how long it usually takes you to fall asleep. An eight-minute session is best for those who fall asleep faster but still have some struggles and those who want to try out the gadget for the first time. The 20-minute session is better for those who want to spend more time on their breathing. If one session doesn’t help you drift off, you can set up another session.
No Sleep Disruptions
When you look online for tips on falling asleep, you’ll find that many experts tell you to shut off any blue lights in the room. This means no more watching television while in bed and no more surfing the web on your laptop or tablet. As the Dodow uses a blue light, you might wonder how it will actually help you fall asleep and stay asleep. The blue light used by this device is not nearly as harsh as those used by other gadgets. It is much dimmer and will not disrupt your sleep. You can even use this device when there is someone else in bed with you.
Convenient Design
We like the convenient design of the Dodow, which is just two inches tall and 4.5-inches across. No matter how much clutter and stuff you like keeping next to you in bed, you’ll find the perfect sport for this gadget. It’s tall enough that you can reach over and touch the top without knocking over your water glass, but it’s small enough that it will never get in your way. With just one or two taps to the surface, you can turn it on and start following the blue light that shines out. The Dodow weighs only seven ounces as-is and a little more with the included batteries, which makes it perfect for travelers.
Solid Construction
Though we like the small design of this gadget, we also like that it’s quite reliable and durable. A few of the reviews we read claimed that it didn’t come on after several taps or that it didn’t last through an entire cycle. If you have any problems with the device, you can troubleshoot it in just a few seconds. The manufacturer suggests taking out the batteries, waiting a few seconds and then putting them back. This tells the device to run a new cycle when you tap on it again. We also like the solid construction of this sleep aid. Whether you smack it off your nightstand when trying to grab your phone or accidentally hit the table with your leg, the device won’t break when it hits the ground.
No Cords
The issue with some of the other sleep aids out there, especially white noise machines, is that you must sacrifice an outlet to use one. Most home bedrooms feature just a few outlets, which you need for your electronics such as your computer or phone charger. The Dodow uses only three AAA batteries, which you can replace as needed. If you have a table or nightstand with a drawer, you can keep extra batteries on hand for future use. Even with the batteries added, this device remains quite light. That makes it easy to carry when you want to get some much-needed rest on a vacation or business trip.
Multiple Nights of Use
One website we consulted found that a simple set of batteries can provide the Dodow with more than 100 nights of use. Whether you use it every night or only on those nights when you struggle, you can rely on the same batteries for several months. One possible downside to this sleep aid is that it does not feature a light that tells you when you need to replace the batteries. You’ll instead want to keep an eye on the color of the blue light. When the light begins dimming, it’s a sign that the batteries are almost dead.
Suitable for All Ages
While you might think that the Dodow really only works for adults, it also works just as well for kids. The manufacturer recommends this product for those aged six and older. Younger children may have a difficult time matching their breathing to the light. This is also a suitable product for elderly people who have sleep troubles. As you age, you may have a hard time falling asleep because of a hormonal imbalance or because of the health conditions you have. Using this light every night or just a few nights a week can significantly help. You may want to supervise younger kids the first times they use it though.
Better Sleep
When it comes right down to it, the Dodow is a solid sleep aid that can help you get all the rest that you need. You can use it in your own bedroom and when you sleep at a friend’s house, and it works just as well when you take it on vacation. This sleep aid produces a solid blue light that shines onto your ceiling. As the light contracts into a thin spot, you inhale, and as it expands into a larger circle, you exhale. It forces you to spend more time exhaling, which slows down your heart rate and helps you reach the perfect state for sleep.
Dodow Cons
The problem with buying gadgets online is that you never know quite how that product will work for you. As of October 2018, Dodow had nearly 50% of its total reviews listed as five-stars and less than 20% of its reviews listed as just one star. Those bad reviews came from people who tried the device and found that it didn’t work. Some found that they needed to tap the face multiple times to turn it on or that it shut down in the middle of a session. Others had a hard time using it at home because it was too small for them to see. We even found reviews that stated it rolled around in the middle of the night. A few reviewers had a difficult time focusing their breathing on the light too.
Final Verdict
Though the Dodow is still fairly new, it has its share of fans. Those fans like everything about the gadget, including how quickly it helps them fall asleep and how easily it helps them change their sleep patterns. Those who did not like their experiences with the gadget are quite vocal too, which is why we found some pros and cons that you should know about. You should make sure that you read over both before you buy. After comparing all the numerous pros to the small number of cons though, you might decide to take a chance on the Dodow. We highly recommend this product for anyone who feels groggy or lethargic because they can’t get enough sleep and anyone who suffers from insomnia.
This little gadget can completely change the way you think about bedtime. All those hours you spent staring at the ceiling and trying to shut down your mind can be a thing of the past. Not only does it give you something to focus on as you breathe, but it can help control your breathing to help you sleep like a baby. While there are other sleep gadgets on the market, none of them can compare to the Dodow.
Frequently Asked Questions
A: The Dodow requires that you focus on the light produced and both inhale and exhale as that light changes. This will require that you sleep on your back. You can, however, use it if you sleep on your side or stomach. Once you reach the end of your session and find yourself drifting off, you can slowly move into your usual position.
A: Blue lights refer to the lights produced by the electronics in your home, including the screen on your cell phone and your television screen. The light used by the Dodow is much lighter and will not interfere with your body’s natural production of melatonin. It will not disrupt anyone who sleeps in the same room either.
A: The first time that you use the device, you may find that you feel sleepy but that you still don’t fall asleep. You can actually set the device to run through as many sessions as you need until you drift off. Most users found that they noticed significant changes within a few nightly sessions of using the device.
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