SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Calm.com, Inc., a California company that has previously been known for its pioneering work in the meditation space, announced today that it has expanded its platform to include a new feature called “Sleep Stories” — bedtime stories specifically designed for adults. The tales mix music, sound effects, and soothing voices to help people drift off to sleep naturally. It is the first of its kind on the market and for a limited time, will be free to users exclusively on the Calm app.
Sleeplessness is a major problem in the US and worldwide with well over 50 million Americans alone suffering from sleep disorders. One in three of the population have suffered from insomnia at some point in their lives and over 9 million Americans take sleep medication prescriptions. Lack of sleep has been linked to other health issues including weight gain, diabetes, and even heart disease. Recent reports from the US have actually stated that sleeplessness is costing the country over $400B a year.
“Improving sleep has consistently been one of the reasons people have told us they use Calm, so it made sense to us to develop a feature specifically designed to help folks find a better night’s rest naturally,” said co-founder Michael Acton Smith.
Each Sleep Story is about thirty minutes in length and contains original content created by the Calm team, as well as several classic tales by well-known authors. They’re read in a very soothing tone and carefully designed to ease and lull the mind — just as bedtime stories do the same for children. In fact, there is a version for children as well.
“We want to make bedtime a calm and relaxing time of the day for everyone,” said co-founder Alex Tew. “When you’re a child, you have much less on your mind and sleep comes easily. Sleep Stories are meant to take you back to a simpler mental state and let your brain relax and prepare for a deep rest, just as it did when you were young. There’s no reason we can’t all have a good night’s sleep....without medication.”
About Calm
Calm.com, Inc. is the leader in the meditation space with over 6 million downloads to date and an average of 10,000 new users daily. Founded in 2012 by British entrepreneurs Michael Acton Smith and Alex Tew, Calm has a mission to make the world healthier and happier through the superpowers of calm, and eventually become a “Nike for the mind” for folks around the world. Backed by $1.5M in angel investments, Calm has already become profitable, and tripled its revenue in 2016 alone. In March 2015, Calm launched a book with Penguin by the same name which quickly became a bestseller in the UK, and received rave reviews upon its launch in the US the following year. It has since been translated and sold in over a dozen countries globally including China, Taiwan, Germany, France, and Spain.