Enhancing deep sleep

Date:
April 8, 2022
Source:
ETH Zurich
Summary:
Researchers have developed a wearable device that plays specific
sounds to enhance deep sleep. The first clinical study has now
shown that the device is effective, but not at the same level of
effectiveness for everyone.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers have developed a wearable device that plays specific sounds to enhance deep sleep. The first clinical study has now shown that the device
is effective, but not at the same level of effectiveness for everyone.


==========================================================================
Many people, especially the elderly, suffer from abnormal sleep. In
particular, the deep sleep phases become shorter and shallower with
age. Deep sleep is important for the regeneration of the brain and memory,
and also has a positive influence on the cardiovascular system.

Researchers have shown that the brain waves characterizing deep sleep,
so- ​called slow waves, can be improved by playing precisely timed
sounds through earphones while sleeping. While this works well in the
sleep laboratory under controlled conditions, there has thus far been
no at home solution that can be used longer than just one night.

SleepLoop to the rescue As part of the SleepLoop project, researchers
at ETH Zurich have developed a mobile system that can be used at home
and aims to promote deep sleep through auditory brain stimulation.

The SleepLoop system consists of a headband that is put on at bedtime
and worn throughout the night. This headband contains electrodes and
a microchip that constantly measure the brain activity of the person
sleeping. Data from this is analysed autonomously in real-time on the
microchip using custom software. As soon as the sleeping person shows
slow waves in the brain activity characterising deep sleep, the system
triggers a short auditory signal (clicking). This helps to synchronise
the neuronal cells and enhance the slow waves. What makes the solution
unique is that the person sleeping is not conciously aware of this sound
during deep sleep.



==========================================================================
The first clinical study Researchers from ETH Zurich and University
Hospital Zurich, led by Caroline Lustenberger, group leader at the Neural Control of Movement Lab, have conducted a clinical study with this device
for the first time. The results have just been published in the journal Communications Medicine.

The study involved equipping participants, between 60 -- 80 years old,
with the SleepLoop system, which they were required to operate themselves
in their own home. The system is designed to function independently even
by users with little technical experience. "This worked very well. We
had surprisingly little data loss and the participants rated the device
as user-friendly," says Lustenberger.

They wore the device every night for a total of four weeks, with
the auditory stimulation given on a nightly basis for two weeks and
no stimulation for the next two weeks. Neither the subjects nor the
researchers knew in which two weeks the auditory signals were played
and in which two they were not.

Auditory stimulation is indeed feasible The results of 16 participants
of the study show that it was indeed possible to enhance the slow waves
through auditory signals during deep sleep in most participants. However,
the individual differences were extensive with some of the subjects
responding very well to the stimuli, while others responded minimally
or not at all.



========================================================================== According to Lustenberger, the question of whether a person reacted to
a stimulus did not depend on their well-being during the day. "Some
people generally responded well to the stimuli and clearly showed
enhanced slow waves, while others showed no response, regardless of
their daily well-being." The researchers have used these individual differences to better predict how a given individual will respond to
the auditory stimulus. This in turn helps them to optimise and improve
the performance of SleepLoop.

On track for market launch A spin-off company Tosoo AG, is currently
working on developing the device further and preparing it for the clinical market. It is already clear that it will not be freely available, but
only via a doctor's prescription.

"This is a medical device, not just a wellness consumer product you can
order online when you have trouble sleeping," emphasises Walter Karlen,
who developed the technology at ETH Zurich. 1 Karlen has been appointed Director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Ulm University in
May 2021. "Use of the device must be medically indicated and supervised
by a doctor," he says.

Further development of the technology will now continue also in Ulm.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by ETH_Zurich. Original written by
Peter Rueegg. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
* Bonnet ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Caroline Lustenberger, M. Laura Ferster, Stephanie Huwiler, Luzius
Brogli, Esther Werth, Reto Huber, Walter Karlen. Auditory deep sleep
stimulation in older adults at home: a randomized crossover trial.

Communications Medicine, 2022; 2 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s43856-022-00096-6 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220408083849.htm

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