This Crazy Contraption Straps Your Head to an Airline Seat for Better Sleep Want better sleep when traveling? A Finnish startup wants you to try strapping your head to your headrest.
By Geoff Weiss
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
How many times have you tried to fall asleep on a plane or train and, well, never mind. Let's be serious: You either snap awake with an aching neck or wind up drooling all over the person sitting next to you.
Increasingly cramped airline seating has spawned a cottage industry of wacky inventions aimed to help business travelers get some much-coveted shut-eye. One such contraption is the Relax Ally, a sleep mask attached to a strap that fastens around airplane, train, bus and car seats in order to prevent passengers' heads from snapping around while they're dozing off, reports Mail Online.
Yes, your head is strapped to and held in place against a headrest. What happens during turbulence or an accident, we're not so sure.
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The patent-pending device comes care of Finnish company Active Ally Oy, which was founded in 2012, and is hosting a 100,000-Euro crowdfunding campaign. Sixteen percent of the campaign has been funded with 41 days to go -- though an Indiegogo campaign last year exceeded its $5,000 goal.
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Consumers from 20 countries have already purchased the roughly $30 device and retailers like QVC have expressed interest, said CEO Lasse Korvala. Additional funds would be put toward developing a full family of products -- including a Relax Ally sleeping cap for children.
Korvala says that Relax Ally's health benefits are matched by its potential marketing powers. Not only does the product allow for uninterrupted slumber, he said, but prevents "micro-trauma" to the neck and shoulders. Furthermore, he envisions working alongside major brands like Coca-Cola, Lufthansa, Volkswagen and Marimekko to plaster their logos atop the Relax Ally masks.
One thing's for certain: you're a lot less likely to wind up in an epic in-air brawl using this head strap thing compared to some other bizzare travel gadgets we've heard about lately.
Related: Press Snooze? You Lose.
