You may think having things completely quiet will help you sleep. Or maybe you're someone who likes a white noise machine on your night stand.
Now a group of medical students is developing a device that targets sound at just the right time, to improve both the duration and quality of sleep.
A team of medical students at Carle Illinois College of Medicine/University of Illinois recently won an award for the concept that combines a wearable brain wave monitoring system, with an app and sound system. They're calling it Sound Asleep.
Second year medical student Maggie Li says it's based on years of research that shows that sounds played at specific times can amplify brain waves during some phases of sleep, leading to better quality, longer sleep. "You can't just play any old noise at any old time to get this benefit," explains Li, "it has to be specific noise known as pink noise." What's pink noise? "You've probably heard of white noise, it kind of sounds like static. People describe pink noise as sounding like a waterfall or flowing water."
The team has been given $50,000 to create a prototype as part of the 2023 Catalyst Award from the US National Academy of Medicine.
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