Short on z's? Zeo could help you figure out how to catch some

— -- Insomniacs will do practically anything to get a good night's sleep. Count sheep. Wear earplugs. Play soothing music. Change pillows, mattresses. And, yes, pop sleeping pills.

Now there's a new high-tech offering for folks who have trouble nodding off. It's the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach I've been testing for several weeks (there's nothing like sleeping on the job).

Zeo combines an adjustable wireless headband "smart" alarm clock/sleep monitor with a Web- and e-mail-based "7 Step Sleep Fitness Program."

The plan helps you identify negative factors that may affect sleep — anxiety and stress, health issues and interruptions from bedmates, kids and pets. Whether it can also help resolve those issues long term remains to be seen.

You might lose a night's sleep over the $399 price; Zeo is sold only at MyZeo.com.

Zeo wakes you with more gentle sounds than most other alarms. It can also be set to rouse you at "a natural awakening point" of up to half an hour before you'd otherwise come to life.

But its chief purpose is to help you catch some z's in the first place. Zeo does this over a period of weeks and months. It collects nightly statistics on the nature of the sleep that you're getting. You supplement this by filling out a "sleep journal" online. ("How much was your sleep disrupted by someone else? How did you feel today?")

The coaching part of Zeo, which comes through e-mail and when you go to MyZeo.com, is tailored to the results. For example, if it finds it takes you less than 7 minutes to fall asleep, it may mean you're sleep challenged and can use extra time in bed. If the time is over half an hour, Zeo recommends you get out of bed and find something soothing and stress-free to do.

Zeo, based in Newton, Mass., was created by a group of sleep-deprived Brown University students in 2003. It's taken this long to come up with something the sandman might approve of. The company says Zeo is based on sound scientific sleep research. Still, there's a disclaimer stating that Zeo is "neither a medical device nor a medical program and is not intended for the diagnosis or treatment of sleep disorders." Here's how it works.