The Zeeq Smart Pillow: A Comprehensive Review
If you suffer from snoring, the pillow you use can make a significant difference. With the right anti-snoring pillow, you can enjoy a better night’s sleep and reduce snoring during the night. This can prove invaluable to you and to anyone else sharing your room.
I have reviewed many anti-snoring pillows recently, including the Nitetronic goodnite™ Pillow and the Snore-No-More pillow. This time I decided to review the Zeeq Smart Pillow, which is a unique anti-snoring pillow with an immense variety of additional features.
The Company
The Zeeq Smart Pillow is sold by REM-Fit, an active lifestyle bedding brand. The brand started in the United States in 2014.
REM-Fit also sells fitness trackers to monitor your heart and breathing during exercise. They also sell mattresses, sheets, and yoga kits. Many of their products are sold in retail stores around the country.
REM-Fit is a division of Protect-A-Bed, a company with thirty-five years of sleep history.
The Features of the Zeeq Smart Pillow
This pillow comes with a variety of features, which is what makes it a ‘smart’ pillow. The features include:
- A snoring alarm: The pillow comes with an integrated microphone, which detects your snoring through the night. When snoring is detected, the pillow gently vibrates to encourage you to move to a slightly different position without waking you up.
- Sleep analysis feature: You also benefit from the pillow’s sleep analysis feature. This works by linking to your smartphone via an app. It enables you to monitor your sleep data and view your ‘snore score’ for the night.
- Smart alarm: Another valuable feature of this pillow is the smart alarm. This records your natural movements when you are sleeping. It then works by waking you up at just the right time based on your sleep cycle.
- Wireless music capabilities: With this pillow, you can also listen to your favorite music to help you get to sleep. You can listen through the pillow itself and you can select music from a variety of sources.
- Music sleep timer: If you enjoy going to sleep while listening to music, this feature will prove useful. It enables you to set a timer so the music stops automatically at the requested time. This helps to ensure you get an undisturbed night’s sleep.
- Good battery life: You will benefit from the long battery life that comes with the Zeeq Smart Pillow. The battery lasts for two weeks, so you won’t have to worry about charging it regularly. When the time comes to recharge the pillow, you simply use the supplied USB cable.
- Adjustable to suit your preferences: The pillow is made up of a foam outer shell and is filled with clusters of memory foam that are removable. This makes it easy to adjust meet your personal preferences and promote optimal comfort.
- Tencel fabric: The Zeeq pillow comes with a Tencel pillowcase, which can be removed and washed. This fiber is a natural bacteria inhibitor, so you will also benefit from a higher level of hygiene with this pillow.
REM-fit, Zeeq Smart Pillow Feature Video
Can the Zeeq Help Alleviate Snoring?
The first thing you will want to know if you suffer from problem snoring is whether the Zeeq will help to alleviate snoring.
This pillow has been designed to stop snoring using advanced technology. It can analyze your sleep and react to your snoring through the night, which can help to reduce the problem.
The pillow includes a built in snoring sensor. If you snore, the sensor gives a slight vibration which cause you to turn your head or turn to the side. This slight adjustment then stops your snoring temporarily. If you snore again, the vibration activates again.
Inside the Pillow
Internally, this pillow is packed with technology making it both unique and multi-functional. The pillow contains adjustable comfort-fill in the form of memory foam clusters, which can be removed to suit your needs. It is covered with a foam outer shell and has a removable and washable Tencel cover.
In terms of technology, plenty is going on inside the Zeeq. It has two adjustable vibration motors to react to your snoring.
It also has eight precision placed wireless speakers to help you make the most of your music. A decibel-tuned microphone integrated into the pillow monitors the intensity of your snoring.
The pillow also has a 3-axis gyroscope designed to track your movements when you sleep. The binaural audio-wave technology that is built into the pillow helps you to benefit from a more restful night’s sleep.
There is also a remote control so that you can operate the integrated technology with ease and convenience.
Ordering
I ordered this pillow direct from the manufacturer, and given the many features, I considered it a good value for the money. I did later see a 10 percent discount offer on the manufacturer’s website, but I didn’t get this. Delivery of the pillow was swift and efficient, so there was no waiting around for extended periods.
Update: The Zeeq Pillow can now be ordered on Amazon.
Opening the Box
When the pillow arrived, I removed it from the box, and the first thing that I noticed was how comfortable it felt when I squeezed it. I found the pillow was heavy but put this down to the broad range of technology integrated into the design. The quality and appearance of the pillow were impressive.
The box contained a range of parts for the pillow as well as a manual. I did struggle a little with the manual and how to get everything working at first. There was also a white envelope containing what looked like a battery, but there were no instructions on what to do with this.
The Zeeq Smart Pillow App
The manual instructed me to download the app to get started. I did this but was a little concerned about some of the negative Google Play reviews of the app.
I did have problems registering to start using the app, so I visited the REM-Fit website for support. Using the online chat facility, I managed to get the registration sorted quickly and efficiently with the help of the support team.
I didn’t see anywhere that mentioned I needed to charge the pillow. I deduced this on my own and went ahead and plugged in for about two hours. A white light appears on the controller when charging is complete.
Once I downloaded the app, I could access valuable information on how the pillow functions. The app asked for a little information regarding my age, weight, and height.
My Experience
Using the pillow was straightforward. Once it had finished charging, I logged onto the app and started connectivity via Bluetooth. At first, I couldn’t get my music to play through the pillow speakers.
I selected a pre-installed song called “Sea-of-the-singing-bowls,” which is a nice ambient white noise. I was unable to get the music to play through the speakers.
Each time I went to the Zeeq Speaker Mode and turn it on, it did connect, but no sound played through the pillow. However, I realized you must have your head fully on the pillow to hear anything. And, as with all Bluetooth devices, connectivity can be an issue.
Zeeq Smart Pillow
First night
During the first night of use, I found the pillow to be comfortable with an appropriate level of firmness. I set the snore alarm to high-vibration but found that even on this setting there was not much vibration.
I also set the wake-up alarm, designed to wake the sleeper up at the optimum moment during sleep cycle. On the first night, it sounded the alarm at the pre-set time, so the sleep cycle concept did not work.
I did hear the alarm vibration very well in the pillow – it is designed to wake you up without disturbing your partner. This is a benefit if you have sleeping babies or toddlers in the house, as they will not be disturbed by your alarm.
In the morning, I went to the app to look at my sleep analysis results for the first night of use. I was able to see my SleepScore and my level of sleep, which was marked as “Good.”
The data also showed how many restful minutes of sleep I had. The Zeeq app asks a survey each night when you push the “Start Sleep” button so that it can track the results of stress, diet, and exercise on your sleep.
I had tried Nitetronic (our #1 rated anti-snoring pillow) and had success with that. The Smart Nora is also a smart pillow built specifically for snoring. I wanted to compare how the Zeeq measures up with those two anti-snoring pillows.
The first night it did track my snoring. I set the sensitivity to capture mild to moderate snoring, and I set the vibration on loud.
I remember it buzzing one time during the night, which must have been the result of my snoring. However, the app shows that it did not do any snoring alarms. So that was not correct because I had felt at least one.
Subsequent Nights
On the second and third night, I was unable to sync it in the morning, so I couldn’t access the data. I still found the pillow to be comfortable and believe it helped reduce my snoring. My wife did not mention anything about my snoring. I’ve found competing pillows such as the Nitetronic goodnite™ to be effective, as it focuses solely on reducing snoring.
During future nights I did feel the snore alarms. They wake me up slightly.
Also, If I move too much, the snore alarm will vibrate. The count of times the snore alarm went off during the night never shows up in the statistical analysis on the app.
My snoring was reduced moderately by the pillow. My best night was 15% of the time snoring, and a snore score of 19 on my baseline snoring app. Those results are about 40% less than my average night.
However, even with the Zeeq activated I did have some average nights, with minimal reduction in snoring. It’s hard to see the results when the Zeeq pillow does not sync with the Zeeq app in the morning due to Bluetooth problems.
Most likely the Zeeq will have to be a complementary snoring therapy for most people. To completely reduce snoring users may need to purchase an anti-snoring mouthpiece or nasal dilator.
Zeeq Music
Music is the best feature of this smart pillow. The built-in music is excellent, with most tracks lasting 30 minutes or more. It’s very relaxing. The music can only be heard by laying on the pillow, nobody around hears it.
On my first night, I heard birds chirping and soft water flowing for about thirty minutes and then it automatically shut off. I was asleep before it shut off.
The Zeeq can play the included sleep tracks in the app (which you must download individually), Spotify Premium music, and other music such as mp3’s stored on your phone.
Other Features
Sleep Motion – I couldn’t find a real use for this feature. It tracks your movement during the night, and you can see the times during the night when you tossed and turned.
Two Week Battery Life – This is amazing, and one of the best features on the pillow. The short charging time makes it hassle free.
REM-fit Active Integration – I couldn’t find any information on how this integrates. It looks like the Rem-fit Active will track calories burned, steps, etc. like other fitness trackers. It then uploads that data into the Zeeq app so you can monitor how that affects your sleep.
Google Fit Integration – The Google Fit also tracks steps and calories, which can then be uploaded into the Zeeq app.
Cost
I showed the pillow to a few of my friends, and they were interested and liked the technology. However, when I mentioned price, it was a deal killer for them. The price point was too high to justify purchasing the Zeeq.
Pros and Cons
There are some pros and cons to consider with the Zeeq. The pros of this product are:
- It is comfortable and adjustable.
- There is plenty of integrated technology to make it multi-functional.
- It is well made and of high quality.
- It is firm but not too firm, which adds to its comfort levels.
The cons of the pillow are:
- It is not as effective at stopping snoring as pillows such as the Nitetronic goodnite™.
- It does come at a higher price due to the technology that integrated into it.
- Setting up can be a struggle if you are relying on the manual.
- I experienced issues with connectivity intermittently for several weeks.
Final Thoughts
In summary, the Zeeq Smart Pillow is a clever concept with high-tech features and multi-functional capabilities. If you are technology lover, this is the pillow for you. Be sure to read my other anti snore pillow reviews to find the best pillow for you.
