A wearable device could enhance deep sleep

Many people, especially older adults, have trouble sleeping properly

Researchers have shown that playing precisely timed sounds through headphones during sleep can improve deep sleep brain waves, known as slow waves

Sleeping Circuit Rescue

As part of the "Sleep Cycle" project, researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a mobile system that can be used at home and is designed to stimulate deep sleep through auditory stimulation of the brain

This "sleep ring" system consists of a headband that is worn at bedtime and worn at night

first clinical study

Researchers from ETH Zurich and University Hospital Zurich, led by Caroline Lustenberger, group leader in the Neural Control of Movement Lab, have carried out the first test of the device.

In the study, participants between the ages of 60 and 80 were equipped with a sleep cycle system and were asked to operate it themselves in their own homes

For a total of four weeks, they wore the device every night, received auditory stimulation every night for the next two weeks, and no stimulation for the next two weeks

Auditory stimulation does work

The results of the study's 16 participants suggest that it is indeed possible to enhance slow waves through auditory signals during deep sleep in most participants

According to Rustenberg, the question of whether a person responds to stimuli has nothing to do with their daytime health

The researchers used these individual differences to better predict how specific individuals would respond to auditory stimuli

on track for market release

A subsidiary company, Tosoo AG, is currently developing the device further and preparing it for the clinical market

"It's a medical device, not just a health consumer product, that you can order online when you're insomnia," emphasizes Walter Cullen, who developed the technology at ETH Zurich