Valkee Bright Light Headset Demonstrates Alleviation of Jet Lag Symptoms

PR59011

HELSINKI, Dec. 19, 2014 / PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

    - Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Field Study on Jet Lag Treatment

Followed by Development of New Smartphone App to Help Travelers Adjust Faster

    The bright light headset maker Valkee announced the completion of a

successful clinical field study on alleviating jet lag symptoms of travelers

after long haul flights. The placebo-controlled double-blind study was the

first successful clinical field study of its kind with any medical device. The

results suggest that the light treatment group recovered from the typical

experienced jet lag symptoms faster than the control group did.

    Full results of the study are scheduled for publication in early 2015 in

Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance

[http://www.asma.org/journal/asem-journal ]. The peer-reviewed monthly journal

published by the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) is the most used and

cited journal in its field and distributed to more than 80 nations. Prior to

2015 it has been called Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine.

    "This is the first ever randomized, placebo-controlled and double-blinded

light therapy study on alleviation of jet lag symptoms, and the results

indicate that transcranial bright light given through ear canals decreases

symptoms of jet lag," said MD, Ph.D. Jari Karhu, Medical Adviser at Valkee. "We

look forward to further studies in the area."

    Following the study, Valkee has developed a smart phone app that helps

optimize bright light treatment, nutrition, exercise and sleep before, during

and after long haul flights. An easy-to-use instructions timeline and push

notifications are based on user defined flight times and routes. The free

Valkee jet lag app is immediately available worldwide outside of the European

Union countries, and downloadable now in App Store for iPhone users and in

Google Play for Android users.

    Valkee is proud to have worked closely with Finnair who place particular

importance on the health and wellness of their passengers during and after

flight. Finnair originally partnered with Valkee to test the product concept

with the airline's business class passengers on the Helsinki-Shanghai route in

2012. Finnair has also been the first airline in the world to carry Valkee

headsets in their duty free catalogue.

    "We have been curious and open-minded about testing and

supportinginnovative technology that travelers and our customers might find

useful, especially if it could increase passenger wellbeing," said Jarkko

Konttinen, Vice President of Product and Marketing at Finnair. "This is a very

interesting study that tells more about Valkee's light therapy for

intercontinental travelers, and we are happy to offer Valkee's product to our

customers."

    Members of the Finnair cabin crew have already had an opportunity to test

Valkee headsets on long-haul flights over the past two years.

    "We are grateful for Finnair's strong support. We are currently working on

details with several other travel retail channel partners to bring the Valkee 2

bright light headsets for more travelers around the globe," said Pekka Somerto,

Valkee CEO.

    Valkee is available onboard Finnair, Singapore Airlines, KLM and Iberia, in

addition to local retailers in several countries in Europe, Japan and North

America, and from the Valkee global online store at http://www.valkee.com. More

detailed information and recent news are available at http://www.valkee.com.

    SOURCE: Valkee