Journal
SLEEP
Volume 44, Issue 11, Pages -Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsab148
Keywords
SWS; sleep quality; relaxation; cognition; slow-waves; auditory; asymmetry
Categories
Funding
- European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union [667875]
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Our study found that activating the concept of relaxation during sleep can increase time spent in slow-wave sleep, improve sleep quality, eliminate asymmetrical sleep depth, and increase subjective alertness.
Our thoughts alter our sleep, but the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. We propose that mental processes are active to a greater or lesser extent during sleep and that this degree of activation affects our sleep depth. We examined this notion by activating the concept of relaxation during sleep using relaxation-related words in 50 healthy participants. In support of our hypothesis, playing relaxing words during non-rapid eye movement sleep extended the time spent in slow-wave sleep, increased power in the slow-wave activity band after the word cue, and abolished an asymmetrical sleep depth during the word presentation period. In addition, participants reported a higher sleep quality and elevated subjective alertness. Our results support the notion that the activation of mental concepts during sleep can influence sleep depth. They provide a basis for interventions using targeted activations to promote sleep depth and sleep quality to foster well-being and health.
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