Scientists are working hard to find a way for the human body to stop wasting time by lying in bed for 8 hours every day. In an extended essay, Jessica Gamble at Aeon Magazine discussed new technologies being developed like the Somneo Sleep Trainer, transcranial direct-current simulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic simulation (TMS). She states the idea of being on a mattress is a good way to re-energize the body, but it is culturally created. There are no reasons to do it at night or for so long if we can improve upon sleep itself.
Advanced Brain Monitoring in California is working to create a mask that would allow sleep to take place in only its most restorative stages. The mask, called the Somneo Sleep Trainer, uses one or two hour windows for strategic naps in mobile sleeping environments. Ambient noise and visual distractions are blocked out and a heating element placed around the eyes, warms the wearer’s face based on proven research that facial warming can put people to sleep. Also, a blue light inside the mask gradually brightens as your alarm time nears while suppressing the hormone melatonin, providing you with a less groggy awakening.
There are other techniques, such as the one used by the tDCS which sends electrical currents through important sleep parts of the brain. After 30 minutes, the subjects are “keenly awake” and able to “learn visual search skills at double the speed.” They also sleep better, spending more time in a deep sleep and are less groggy when they wake up. Sleep with this technique is thought to be more effective overall.
Transcranial magnetic simulation (TMS) technique induces slow-wave oscillations in the brain, making it achieve a deep sleep at a faster rate. You could maximize sleep at the flip of a switch. The four hours of sleep you had could feel like the eight hours of someone else’s.
These techniques would greatly benefit soldiers on the war front and the 30% of Americans who live everyday life with less than the needed amounts of sleep, which increases their chances of developing a chronic disease. The options are there to change the nature of sleep; we just need to make the most of the opportunities being presented to us.
Comments are closed.