Not sleeping well can have very serious health consequences and there is scientific evidence that people who do not enjoy quality sleep have a higher risk of developing obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, or dementia, among others. conditions.
Good sleep hygiene is essential to getting a good night’s sleep, but insomnia can be difficult to treat in some cases. Now, new research has shown that closed-loop acoustic stimulation neurotechnology is a useful, non-invasive technique for combating insomnia and improving autonomic nervous system function.
The study was conducted by scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, using a tool called Cereset Research with Standard Operating Procedures (CR-SOP), which is the evolution of HIRREM, or resonance-based electroencephalic duplication. , relational, and high-resolution, that uses scalp sensors to monitor brain waves and software algorithms to translate frequencies into audible pitch-variable tones.
“Closed-loop acoustic stimulation may improve sleep and autonomic function in those who suffer from insomnia”
These tones are associated with brain waves that are repeated in real time through headphones, thus allowing the brain to listen to itself, to observe itself in an acoustic mirror. Thanks to CR-SOP, the brain can recover from the effects of stress that cause insomnia, explained Dr. Charles H. Tegeler, chair of neurology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, adding: “During the intervention, the brain continually updates itself regarding its own activity patterns, resulting in self-calibration or self-optimization.
Relieve insomnia and improve nervous system function
The research involved 22 adults who compared changes in the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), a test used to assess the symptoms of insomnia. About half of these people received 10 sessions of brainwave-linked CR-SOP, while the rest acted as controls and received 10 sessions of randomly generated auditory tones. These sessions lasted for a mean of 15.3 days, and the researchers also recorded heart rate and blood pressure to assess cardiovascular autonomic regulation.
After finishing the sessions and in the follow-up visits that took place up to six weeks later, the individuals in the CR-SOP group reported that their insomnia symptoms had decreased and also showed statistically and clinically significant improvements in autonomic function through various measures. , such as heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity, compared with those who received random tones.
Heart rate variability is a biometric pattern that reflects the health of the autonomic nervous system and is linked to a number of important health and wellness outcomes, and baroreflex sensitivity measures blood pressure regulation. “Closed-loop acoustic stimulation can improve sleep and autonomic function in those who suffer from insomnia,” Tegeler said.
The expert concludes: “This pilot study demonstrates these benefits with CR-SOP from sessions received over a short period. This is also an important step to show the potential scalability of the intervention to treat more people.” The results of the study have been published in Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health, and clinical trials focusing on stress and anxiety in healthcare professionals and caregivers are currently underway.
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