Update 10/5/2014
The mask, despite being comfortable to wear, was not easy for me to get used to during sleep (as it turns out a regular sleep mask isn’t either in my case) so it was hard for me to test it over many nights. In addition to that, the function of the light signal was not easy to time to my REM phases, although it was slightly easier with the nap mode if I activate during the night after waking up. It seems that many users have had similar issues and have not achieved much success with the Remee.
Part of the problem, other than the masks lack of ability to detect REM, is that it came with no guidance other than the operation manual, and for beginners and novices this was not sufficient to help them achieve lucidity. This mask is an aid and it can work but it still requires trial and error as well as persistence. Despite not being perfect, this device is good as an entry level lucid dreaming mask with a price more people can afford, making it a viable option for many.
The Remee Lucid Dreaming Mask (who’s achronim is the “REM Enhancing Eyemask”) took the world by storm when Bitbanger Labs launched their Kickstarter Campaign in April of 2012. They sailed through their goal of $35K to eventually raise more than half a million dollars, and for good reason. The world of lucid dreaming was ready for a new lucid dreaming aid as there was little new in the last ten years with very few exceptions.
The Remee is a sleep mask that flashes in various sequences of six red LED lights to signal and help alert you that you are dreaming. The following is my initial review and thoughts about the Remee, addressed to those who are considering getting one and wish to get a better sense of how it works as well as to the thousands of people who already have those and could benefit from a few tips on how to use it.
A Sleep Mask
Remee is first and formost a sleep mask and as such it needs to be comfortable to sleep in. As compared to a regular sleep mask it is a little thicker and slightly heavier than most and yet still comfortable and you can sleep with it throughout the night. I had to get used to it but that didn’t take very long. Now compared to other lucid dreaming masks the Remee is unparalleled. It contains a thin flexible circuit board (with the exception of 2 small areas where hard components like the battery) with a thin battery (that should last about 5-6 months) and six red LED lights all snugly covered in a fairly thin foam. It is lighter, thiner and more comfortable than any other LD mask I have tried. Unlike other masks, there are no exposed parts but the components are accessible through a velcro opening at the top.
Lucidity
Remee works by trying to time its signals to flash while you are in REM sleep (the cycle of sleep in which dreaming occurs). This is done by the device starting a few hours after going to sleep, where REM cycles are longer, and flash additional times after certain intervals. You can program how long before it first flashes, how long between the intervals and the flash patterns as well as the brightness intensity. It will probably take a few attempts before you fine tune it’s setting to better match your sleep cycles but if you go to sleep at the site time every night you have a good chance of adjusting it fairly quickly.
Remee’s flashing lights are intended to be a lucidity trigger. They are meant to show up as artifacts and effects in your dreams that you might notice, wonder about and even recognize which will help you realize you are dreaming. When you set a particular pattern, try to memorize it, tell yourself that when you’ll see that pattern next that you will recognize you are dreaming and become lucid. If you see flashing red light in any scenario in your daily life, do a reality check and ask yourself, “Am I Dreaming?”.
Remee has another neat little feature called Nap Mode in which it will be set to flash a short time after being activated. This is perfect for, well, naps. It helps prevent having to reprogram it from several hours to several minutes and back. Nap Mode is great for those “going back to sleep” moments on weekend mornings or days where there is no rush to get up.
Video Review
I have put together a quick video going over some of the aspects of the Remee and my thoughts about it as well as quick comparison to a mask that has a REM Detection feature:
Music Credit: Song used in the video is Lucid Dream Machine by Something Fiction
Tips & Tricks
For those who have a Remee, I wanted to share a little of my experience with it so far and some of the issues & solutions i’ve discovered in using Remee.
- If you are trying to program Remee, but the lights in the back do not flash along with the programing screen as shown in the video below, there might be either too much light or too little light in the room. I found that both a lot of or too little light can interfere with the programing. Also make sure the light sensors are properly exposed and aligned with the squares on the screen.
- Before trying to program the Remee differently each night to figure out what brightness level will be best for you, double click the front button to activate the pattern that will be displayed during sleep and put the mask on with your eyes closed. If you can’t notice the light pattern when you are awake, you probably won’t notice it when you are asleep. Increase the brightness until you see it slightly through your closed eyelids and try that brightness level first.
- If you find the mask slipping off of your head at night (has not happend to me actually), try putting the back head band under your ears instead of above them.
- For those of you who don’t have a steady and constant sleep throughout the night (like myself), use Nap Mode every time you wake up and go to sleep. This will increase your chances of seeing the pattern more times during REM sleep as most times we wake up from sleep is during dreaming.
Programing Remee
The way you program the Remee is nothing short of brilliant. Using 2 light sensors on the circuit board, the programming page on their website flashes a sequence of light and dark squares in fornt of the sensors and reprograms the device according to the settings sliders on the page. This removed having to put additional buttons or switches on the mask itself (something that is a pain in other masks).
Here is the video by Bitbanger Labs showing what comes in the box with the Remee and how to use it.
I highly recommend you log in to your account and save your settings so you can remember what you’ve tried and adjust it from there until you find your optimal settings.
Overall the Remee is an excellent Lucid Dreaming Mask for its price, design and usability.
If you are looking for a Lucid Dreaming Mask with REM detection, check out this version of the REM Dreamer.
To get yourself a Remee, go to SleepWithRemee.com
Yes, I would love to see some improvements made to the Remee in future iterations such as bluetooth connectivity for easier programing and perhaps interactivity with smartphone apps and other devices that can detect REM. Reinventing the Lucid Dreaming Mask had to start somewhere and I admire and applaud its creators for the work the’ve done, I have no doubt it was not an easy task.
Sweet and Lucid Dreams…
Jay Mutzafi
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Hi nice review,
I did have questions on peoples practical experience with remee and rem dreamer. With remee do the flashing light wake you when they go off during non rem sleep and is ones rem sleep regular enough in time to allow “tuning in” to it? For rem dreamer, I have heard that a similar older device Nova dreamer may give false positives for eye movement due to the mask shifting on ones face during sleep is this also true for rem dreamer? I have been developing a device that is not a mask but rather a small pcb which is held on forehead by elastic band, uses a modulated ir signal to detect eye movement thus does not need to block ambient light also uses an accelerometer to detect head and body movement. thanks
Thanks for reading and for your questions.
The lights can wake you during non rem sleep but it really depends on a few things. It is less likely to happen during the deep sleep cycle (delta waves) and more likely during light sleep cycle (alpha waves). You can read more about it here.
It also depends on a persons quality of sleep. Some wake up easily from any sounds or light or movement, others are sound sleepers.
The later generations of the Rem Dreamer are less likely create false positives. I have not tried the Nova Dreamer but rumors of the Nove Dreamer 2 have been around for years but have surfaced again lately after an email from the Lucidity Institute was sent.
As for “tuning in” to it, it is possible and you can increase your chances of doing so if you at least go to sleep at the same time every night and sleep for the same amount of time. The more regular your sleep is the more regular your sleep cycles will be. However, many other things can affect it (like nutrition or caffeine intake for example) and not everyone’s cycles will be consistant.
I would love to know more about your device. please send me a link or info about it.
I looked out for most of remee reviews on the web but i’ve still haven’t got an answer to the most important question: “Will you be able to lucid dream?”
I’m sure you can honestly answer this as you seem to have lots of experience in this. And i’m not talking about obe’s..from experience it’s a totally different than lucid dreaming. Plus, there is no aiding device for that, other than really strong focus. The thing, is that i’m trying to decide if this device is worth of purchasing. I understand that it doesn’t have REM detection but i pretty sure i can program it through trial and error. Due to my heavy daily program i’m always too tired and fall always in deep sleep. Usually i lucid dream just a short time before i wake up though. Btw, very professional review and great website!
Thanks for the comments!
I would ask a slightly different question (and then answer it). “Would this device increase my chances to lucid dream?”
The short answer is, “It Can”. But just like any other lucid dream technique or device I came across, it not only doesn’t guarantee to make you lucid dream, it is also still not that easy to use it to increase your chances to lucid dream. However, if your sleep, deep as it is, is fairly regular (sleep the same amount of hours and go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day) it will be easier for you to tune the Remee to your sleep. for a less regular sleep cycle, a mask with REM detection might work better, but those are often more expensive and you might not be able to afford one. Either way, any lucid dreaming mask will take time before it becomes efficient for you as the biggest challenge is training your mind to recognize the flashing lights and have that make you realize you are dreaming. That does not come with any device and takes practice.
I didn’t address this question in my review as at the time I wrote it I had the Remee for only a short while. I still plan on using it more consistently for the next couple of months and write a follow up regarding it’s efficiency and how well it does for my practice overall.
So would I recommend you purchase the Remee? In general, yes, especially as an entry level device that is more affordable. But if you want a little more certainty and perhaps best methods for using it, at least from me, I say give it a little more time. There is a lot more interest in lucid dreaming aids now, especially after Remee become so popular when it launched. There are new systems popping up like Nidra Dreaming for example, who claim 100% accuracy in causing lucid dreaming (a very big claim if you ask me), but have not released any information on what kind of system they have, how it works or how much it will cost. So that remains to be seen.
I hope this helped you a bit.
Thanks so much for your response. From my experience as a M.Eng on the engineering point of view, Remee is a very very well thought product, and this is what caused me to interest so much in the first place. Actually, i always aim to maximize performance while minimizing cost/energy/time throughout my everyday life, and this applies to the products i buy. Remee is one of these products, though i really need more info on the actual function so i can make a decision.
Your statement about giving it more time, is absolutely correct. I’ll check some time after, when more reviews will pop-up. Plus you can keep us updated with more details in the future. I’m subscribing to your blog. No rss feed?;p I’m still one of the guys not using Twitter:)
You’re welcome!
I think your approche is excellent. maximizing performance while minimizing efforts is important in a practice that can consume so much time and energy.
I will gladly send updates. As you can tell the site is still a little new. I will soon add an email list if people are interested, for now, here is the rss feed.
Thanks for subscribing.
GREAT REVIEW. Very informative… I have saved up for Remee and I want to know how you know how long it takes YOU, personally to set up the timing for the flashingg lights….
Thanks Rida.
If I understand your question correctly, it took me close to two weeks to tune the lights to where I think is most optimal for me. But since I haven’t used a sleep mask in over 6 years, the challenge is tuning my mind again to recognize and reponed to the lights more than to time the lights to my REM sleep.
Still to improve Remee’s timing, I am looking forward to getting my Muse this year and map out my sleep cycle better. Although there are a bunch of devices out there that already can do that like the Zeo.
A general tip to tuning Remee: The later it is in your sleep, the longer your REM cycles are and easier to time for as there is a higher chance of the lights going off during a dream. So set the initial delay for later (closer to morning), but with enough time for the 3 patterns with the delay between them to occur before you wake up.
though, if someone could help me out, does turning the remee off after programing it reset it?
I haven’t used it in a long time. Check the manual or content them on their website.