Deep Sleep Secret Revealed - Research, Quality Of Life

Want to fall into deep sleep easily and sleep like a baby? Everyone knows that babies can be euthanized by gentle rocking. And now it turned out that what is effective for children can also be used by adults

New research shows that wiggling slowly not only improves sleep, but it can help people consolidate memories overnight.

Scientists at the University of Geneva in Switzerland studied the sleep of 18 healthy young people while they slept in a laboratory for two nights. On the first night, the subjects slept in regular stationary beds. And on the second night they were replaced by rocking beds.

The researchers found that rocking helped the subjects fall asleep faster and increased the amount of slow-motion sleep, the phase of sleep associated with feeling refreshed and restful upon waking. The participants in the experiment also had fewer periods of spontaneous arousal. At the same time, the rocking did not affect the duration of sleep.

The study also assessed the ability to remember. The participants studied the word pairs before going to bed. Then laboratory assistants checked them for memorization of these words in the evening, and then in the morning when they woke up. Subjects performed better on the morning test after a night in rocking beds compared to those after sleeping in stationary beds. The wiggle increased the accuracy of their memories. Other studies have shown similar results. Moreover, the memorization efficiency depended on the frequency and type of swing.

It is not known whether and to what extent wiggling can help people with severe sleep problems. But these results are good news for many of us.

Today, more than 30% of adults report that they are not getting enough sleep, not to mention the rampant use of sleeping pills, which can have detrimental effects on daily brain function

How does wiggle change sleep architecture? Why does it work? The researchers found that wiggling induced a kind of synchronization in brain wave activity that changed in tandem with external movement. Rocking also increased the amount of brain vibrations that are characteristic of sleep. And they are critical to improving memory and learning ability.

The exact mechanism by which wiggling affects the brain is not yet clear. But the researchers speculate that the rocking activates motion-sensitive neurons in the inner ear, which then modulates brain activity.

All of this makes you wonder: How does movement affect the brain more broadly? It is well known that exercise improves cognitive function, but what about movements like swinging that involve minimal effort? What effect does our seemingly aimless, daily physical movements, such as fidgeting, swinging legs, and others have on the brain?

For example, a 2016 study showed that children cope better with the task of concentration if they are allowed to move while memorizing a poem or memorizing something.

So maybe my elementary school teachers were wrong to scold me for not paying attention to my classroom work because I was busy drawing or fidgeting in my chair. In fact, I was improving my learning ability.

Having learned about the results of new research, perhaps now some marketing guru is already inventing an adult version of a robotic crib that can gently rock the baby all night

• By Richard A. Friedman, psychiatrist
• journalist, sociologist, candidate of historical sciences, associate professor