Sound-based Sleep Inducers and their Efficacy

Marcus Lo
Pomfret School, 398 Pomfret Street, Pomfret Center, Pomfret CT 06258
Email: [email protected]
Abstract— research has been focused on using methods such as
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that affects nearly every drugs, electromagnetism, and meditation in order to
adult at some point in their lives [1]. It is classified as having
trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up too early induce sleep [10] [11] [12]. These methods are not
[2]. Insomnia causes an increased risk of heart attack, easily accessible for everyone and some may have
depression, anxiety, and reduced cognitive function [3]. Drugs concerns or financial issues with using drugs or
can be used to ease the body into sleep, but they can often be Cognitive Behavioral Therapy [13]. This device offers
habit-forming and have poor side effects. Moreover, they lose
their effectiveness over time. Alternatively, research has been
a cheap and easily accessible alternative that would
done on electromagnetic sleep inducers that utilize an allow anyone to alleviate the symptoms of insomnia.
electronic current in order to simulate the earth’s geomagnetic This research will look at a device that produces a
field [4]. The side effects of these devices are unknown, and hypnotic pink noise.
there has not been extensive research on the topic. Therefore
there is a need for a safe, affordable, and effective sleep
inducer that does not have negative effects on one’s health. There are two main types of sleep inducers:
This research focuses on a sound-based sleep inducer that electromagnetic and sound-based inducers.
emits sound frequencies at 5-8hz, which is the frequency of Electromagnetic sleep inducers utilize electromagnetic
brain waves during Rapid Eye Movement sleep [5]. The device induction in order to electrically stimulate the scalp
was found to effectively reduce the time it takes an individual
to fall asleep by 50%, down to an average of 14.6 minutes
and produce delta waves [14] [15] [16]. Slow-wave
across all subjects. sleep is the deepest part of non-REM sleep and is
characterized by such delta waves. They are proven to
Keywords— Sleep problems, insomnia, sound sleep inducers, be effective but the side effects of electromagnetic
sound based sleep inducer, sleep inducer, sleep, REM, sleep waves are unknown, especially in children.
disturbance, sleep Hong Kong
On the contrary, sound is a safer but less tested
option. Sound frequencies such as white noise and
I. INTRODUCTION pink noise are soothing to the brain and can aid in
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that makes it falling asleep. White noise includes all audible
difficult to fall or stay asleep [6]. While most adults frequencies and can mask loud noises [17]. Examples
experience short-term insomnia, which lasts for less of white noise include fans, ocean waves, and
than three months, long-term insomnia can be a television static. White noise is beneficial to sleep
serious health issue. Lack of sleep causes decreased because it blocks out unwanted noise that can distract
cognition, anxiety, memory loss, and lack of energy from sleep [18]. On the other hand, pink noise is more
[7]. Although insomnia is typically caused by an concentrated at low frequencies and includes rain,
unhealthy lifestyle, factors such as pregnancy or work wind, and heartbeats (Healthline) [19] . Pink noise is
can lead to poor sleep hygiene. Therefore it is hypnotic and is beneficial to sleep by providing a
important to find a solution that will allow an sound for the brain to focus on [20].
individual to fall asleep quickly without being habit-
forming or having negative side effects.
II. METHODS
In Hong Kong, 48% of people ages 15 and above In order to test the effectiveness of a sound-based
have experienced some sort of sleep disturbance or sleep inducer, five healthy subjects with no sleep
trouble falling asleep [8]. This impacts work and social disturbances recorded the time it took for them to fall
life and can lead to the aforementioned health issues. asleep naturally for five consecutive days, followed by
Sleep inducers are an effective non-drug way to ease five consecutive days using the sleep inducer. To do
the symptoms of sleep disturbance or insomnia. this, subjects used a sleep tracking application called
―Sleep Cycle. (Fig 1.1)‖ This app uses a phone’s
Sedatives such as sleeping pills are habit-forming microphone and accelerometer to sense the sounds and
and can cause addiction and dependency [9]. Previous movement associated with a sleeping individual.
Utilizing machine learning algorithms, it tracks
statistics such as time asleep, stage of sleep, sleep
quality, and can automatically record audio such as
sleep talking. The app begins tracking and listening
once the user presses the Start button in Fig 1.2. After
collection, the five days of data were averaged to
determine the effectiveness of the device.

The device (Fig 1.3) is to be placed on a bedside table

or near the subject’s head. It consists of a speaker, a
button, and a dial. When the button is pressed, the
speaker emits a high-pitched sound frequency of 5-8hz
that mimics brain wave frequency during REM sleep.
This stage of sleep is where dreams occur and is
characterized by the eyes rapidly moving around
without sending signals to the brain. The volume of
the sound can be controlled by the dial. The sound Fig 1.3 Image of sleep inducer
progressively gets lower over the duration of roughly
five minutes, at which point it shuts off. This acts as a III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
trigger and the subject falls asleep soon after. Subjects
reported that the sound was irritating, but the results
show that the device is effective in reducing the time it With Sleep Cycle it is possible to export raw data
takes an individual to fall asleep. This device can be directly into Excel, which was then converted into
used with more than one person if the volume is graphs in order to visually analyze patterns and
adjusted and the device is placed in a convenient changes in sleep behavior. The statistic used to
location. determine the device’s effectiveness was ―asleep
after,‖ which tracks the time between activation and
falling asleep, shown in Fig 1.1. The data was sorted
by subjects before and after using the sleep inducer.
The five data points were then averaged in order to
produce a time for each subject before and after use.
Then, the points were graphed onto a scatter plot (Fig
2.1-2.5). The average data for all five subjects were
graphed, which revealed patterns before and after
using the device.

Fig 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5 show that subjects
respond differently to the device, but generally, time to
fall asleep becomes consistent (Fig 2.6). There is an
average decrease of 12.6 minutes in time falling asleep
after using the sleep inducer, from 27.4 mins to 14.6
mins (Fig 2.7). Almost all of the subjects reported that
the sound was quite irritating and prevented them from
falling asleep, but after analysis, the device was
proven to effectively reduce the time it takes an
individual to fall asleep. During testing, the sound
provided an auditory focal point that helped the user to
relax and fall asleep quicker.
Fig 1.1 - Sleep Cycle interface Fig 1.2 - Sleep Cycle activation menu
Although results show that the device is effective,
further research should be focused on fine-tuning the
device. Research should look at the runtime of the
sound to find the most efficient option. Further study
should also be conducted on differences in age and
gender and how different subjects will respond to the
device. None of the subjects had a particularly difficult
time falling asleep, and this device is aimed at those
who have sleeping disorders. It is still uncertain
whether or not it is effective on those with these
disorders, however, it is likely to work as it had a great
effect on those who already have no trouble falling
asleep.

Fig 2.4 - Subject 4 time to fall asleep

Fig 2.1 - Subject 1 time to fall asleep

Fig 2.5 - Subject 5 time to fall asleep

Fig 2.2 - Subject 2 time to fall asleep Fig 2.6 - Aggregated sleep data

Fig 2.3 - Subject 3 time to fall asleep

Fig 2.7 - Aggregated before and after data
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