With digital addictions keeping us glued to our smartphones until our heads hit the pillow and long work days that bleed into night, insomnia is a bigger problem than ever. Malmo-based startup Learning to Sleep claims to have a solution. The startup has developed a digital, drug-free sleep treatment that patients can access anywhere with no waiting time.
Founded in 2014, Learning to Sleep has just closed a €1 million round from Add Health Media, Almi Invest, Dendera Ventures and Wikow Invest.
The startup plans to use the funding to consolidate its position on the Swedish market and launch the product in the UK. The company has already treated over 1,000 patients in Sweden and Norway with its award winning platform based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
”With this money we can allocate as much as €400k directly into market access, which will give even more patients in Europe the possibility to treat their bad sleep,” said Micael Gustafsson, CEO of Learning to Sleep. “94% of those who participate in its five week treatment programme benefit from improved sleep, and all of them are able to stop taking sleeping pills. So we are not only giving people their life back, we are also reducing the use of sleep drugs in society which is already turning into a huge problem.”
Learning to Sleep is a registered care provider in Sweden, and its treatment is approved by the Swedish equivalent to NHS (Läkemedelsverket). It’s CE marked, conforming to relevant European health, safety and environmental protection legislation.
“We see that Learning to Sleep fits well with our strategy and creates synergies with other e-health companies that are part of our associated companies,” added Johan Bloom, founder of Add Health Media. “It is also a clear consumer-oriented service and there we can greatly benefit from marketing via our and Schibsted’s media channels.”
