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Andres Puszyn

 13,661

Help people sleep better (Over The Counter solutions)

80% of world adults want to improve the quality of their sleep. Help us give them an OTC (Over The Counter) natural effective solution.

This challenge is closed

stage:
Won
prize:
$3,000

This challenge is closed

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Summary
Timeline
Updates7
Forum10
Teams165
FAQ
Summary

Overview

 

Problem Statement:

This Ideation challenge is designed to help 6,5 billion adults that want to improve the quality of their sleep without the potential side effects of prescription pills. 
Sleeping well is critical for body, mental & emotional well-being, but to sleep properly we need psychological well-being first. This achieved, restoring balance and coping with physical and mental stress should be the way to sublime sleep. 

We are looking for solutions that help not only having a restoring sleep but to manage the phycological factors that burden people with the capacity to fall asleep. Solutions that maybe only common in your country and that can be shared with other parts of the world. 
 I represent a consultancy firm that is working for a European pharmaceutical company and in principle, if we get a feasible and marketable idea from this challenge it will be produced as an OTC (Over The Counter) product to be sold in pharmacies, herbs shops, and online.

A feasible and marketable idea would be a product recipe with a list of ingredients (we do not expect a chemical formula) that currently is neither part of our client's assortment nor in the market by a major pharmaceutical company.

At this point, we are not interested in technological solutions, such as an App. But, if on top of the recipe, you provide a sketch of an innovative delivery system (a way to administer the product different from pills) your chances of winning will increase.

 

Sleep Quality statistics:

  • It’s estimated that in 2023 there will be 130 million total cases of acute insomnia worldwide.
  • Over 37% of adults have trouble conciliating or maintaining sleep.
  • 80% of global adults want to improve the quality of their sleep.
  • Women are twice as likely to develop insomnia.
  • The majority of adults (62%) say they sleep somewhat/not at all well.
  • 50% of worldwide adults continue to recognize sleep has a major impact on their overall health and wellbeing compared to diet (41%) and exercise (40%).
  • More than 4 in 10 say their sleep has gotten worse in the past 5 years.
  • 37.9% of people reported unintentionally falling asleep during the day or at work in the last 30 days

And COVID-19 has made thighs even worse. Sleep disturbances have affected a substantial proportion of the general population during the pandemic lockdown. These are significantly associated with a self-assessed impact on mental health, but may also be related to suspected COVID-19 status, changes in habits, and self-isolation.

 

Current Solutions

1. Melatonin based products 

2. Valerian root-based products 

3. Prescription drugs

 

Pain Points

Prescription drugs may lead to dependence.

 

Jane's Story:

While researching for this project I stumbled into the blog of Jane Brown (name changed to protect her identity) where she described in vivid detail her Covid-related insomnia nightmare. I want to share her story that deeply affected me and it was a strong motivation to actively engage in this challenge.

Jane is 34 years old, she’s been married to Bob (39 yrs) for 6 years now. They have two beautiful daughters, ages 4 and 2. Jane is (was) a very healthy, successful, and happy person. Her marriage was going very well, her daughters were an endless source of joy, and her carrier was also going very well she was promoted to a Marketing Manager position in a multinational corporation in January 2020.

Jane has been a very driven person all her life, and early spring last year she was at the peak of her life. And then COVID 19 hit the world and destroyed hers.

When the restrictions started in late March 2020 she found herself stuck at home with a huge workload and two little girls to take care of (Bob is a factory manager and keeps on working on-site). She started this new challenge, as usual, with a positive attitude and a lot of energy. But the long work hours full of Zoom meetings and her daughters constantly demanding her attention, impacted her in a way she never expected: Jane started to have serious troubles sleeping

Jane was very conscious of what she consumed and was not interested at all in prescription sleeping pills, so she reached for help from a good friend of hers that is a behavioral therapist. Her friend recommended OTC sleeping aids; to avoid stimulants, heavy dinners, or naps (she laughed at this one); to start meditation, and to keep a journal. She even recommended Jane try Paradoxical Intention (a strategy that involves focusing on staying awake in bed instead of expecting to fall asleep). None of these remedies worked.

The sleeping deprivation led to a decline in her work quality and relationships. She was mad, jumpy, and had difficulties concentrating, she started to miss deadlines and having conflicts with her subordinates. The joyful, efficient, and creative Jane was gone. She had a warning from her boss that only fuelled her anxiety.

After several months of carrying this burden, Jane’s health started to deteriorate. She was tired all day, anxious, and started to feel depressed, and she even gained weight. Jane began to abuse wine and stronger stuff since, in her own words, “It helps me to sleep at least for a few hours”. Jane was in a vicious circle.

All this led to a deterioration of her marriage. She lacked the energy to engage with Bob and their daughters in a meaningful way. Not only they stopped having thoughtful conversations, eventually, but they also stopped having sex. 

Last December Jane and Bob had a huge fight. He told her that he didn’t recognize her anymore and that he “needed some alone time to think”. Bob left their house in early January. In only 11 months Jane's whole world collapsed.

 

This Ideation challenge is designed to help Jane and other 6,5 billion adults to get a nice restoring sleep.

HELP US HELP JANE.

 

 


Guidelines

 

Evaluation criteria:

A panel of experts will evaluate the ideas based on originality, and if you provide an innovative delivery system. 

Criteria

Description

Weight

Originality

The proposed solution doesn’t exist as a product sold by a major pharmaceutical company. 

80

Delivery system

An original delivery system (different from a pill) is provided.

20

Prize scheme

We will award the three best ideas with the following scheme:

  1. $1,750 to the best idea.
  2. $750 to second best.
  3. $500 to third best.
Timeline
Updates7

Challenge Updates

Winners of the #SleepBetter Challenge

May 2, 2021, 11:51 a.m. PDT by Andres Puszyn

Hello everybody, 

After an intense week of analyzing the 52 proposals, we have concluded that the alternatives that best suit our client are:

Ranking

Innovator

Solution

Originality 

Points

Delivery System

 Points

Total Points

1st

Kimberly Fendi

CBD Melatonin Toothpaste

70

20

90

2nd

Mitul Sakar

Like “baby sleep” but sans warm milk 

75

10

85

3rd

Nick Sawyer

A cyclical approach to sleep medication

70

10

80

Thank you all for your participation and very insightful solutions, I'm sure Jane we will find a solution for Jane's problem.

Hope to see you all in future challenges.

Warm regards,

Andrés Puszyn


Winners to be announced by Friday April 30th

April 21, 2021, 2:40 a.m. PDT by Andres Puszyn

We are sorry, but we are still evaluating the feasibility of all the solutions presented and will not be able to announce the winner before next Friday, April 30th.

We will contact the winners before making public the announcement.

Warm regards and thank you all for your wonderful solutions, I'm sure we will find alternatives for Jane to recover her sleep.

Andrés


Challenge closed

April 15, 2021, 11:27 p.m. PDT by Andres Puszyn

The challenge is now closed, we will announce the winners next April 20th.

We have 52 submissions from 162 teams to review the next couple of days.

Thank you all very much for the solutions and comments, I'm sure we will find a suitable alternative for Jane.

Have a great day and a better weekend.

Andrés


36 hours left to submit your solution to help Jane

April 14, 2021, 8:25 a.m. PDT by Andres Puszyn

This Friday April 15 at 7:00 am (CET) will close the period to submit solutions for the SleepBetter challenge.

Don't miss the opportunity to present your solution.

Thanks a lot to all of you that have already submitted proposals and made comments abut the challenge.

Best regards


3 DAYS LEFT TO MAKE SUBMISSIONS FOR THE CHALLENGE

April 12, 2021, 9:47 a.m. PDT by Andres Puszyn

There are 3 days left to submit your solution to the #sleepbetter challenge!

You're so close. You can do this!  

Remember, the final submission deadline is April 15th (18:00 CET). No submissions received after this time will be accepted, so make sure to get yours in as soon as possible.

Should you have any question or comment, please let me know

GOOD LUCK!


Forum10
Teams165
FAQ