Norcross entrepreneur hoping U.S. wakes up to his sleep aid

A Norcross entrepreneur hopes to hit it big in the sleep aid market in the way 5-hour Energy did in the stimulant market.

He's even mimicked that popular drink's uniquely shaped 2-ounce bottle for his packaging.

Sleep Formula 39 is billed as a non-prescription sleep drink with all-natural ingredients proven to work in clinical trials.

Founder Danny Rinaldi, 53, is betting that the clinical trials will differentiate his offering from other over-the-counter sleep products. Those tests showed users slept longer, tossed and turned less, and fell asleep faster, according to the product's label.

That would be welcome news to the sleep-starved. The non-profit National Sleep Foundation says 48 percent of Americans report occasional insomnia, and 22 percent say they experience insomnia every night, or almost every night.

That makes for a huge market, with products ranging from prescription medicines like Ambien and Lunesta to over-the-counter aids like Sominex.

Sleep Formula 39, Rinaldi said, is special. While ingredients like melatonin are widely available, his blend of 12 ingredients in liquid form is not. It also contains no antihistamines, so users won't wake up groggy. A two-bottle pack sells for $5.49.

Sleep Formula 39 got a marketing boost recently when National Sleep Foundation chairman Russell Rosenberg hired on as scientific adviser.

Rosenberg said that among comparable sleep aids, "It's the only one I know of that has some scientific data to support its [claims of] efficacy."

Nancy Collop, a physician and director of the Emory Sleep Center, said that while such sleep aids are "probably OK for short term use, if it's more of a chronic issue they should talk to their doctor."

Rinaldi got the idea to create a sleep aid because of his own issues. He found it hard to sleep after long business trips overseas so he began to take various combinations of sleep remedies.

"I couldn't find a healthy product that worked for me," he said.