Insomniac? A trick used for babies could help you sleep: study

Rock-a-bye, baby — or insomniac adult.Those who struggle to fall or stay asleep have most likely tried every trick in the book to catch some Z’s, from cutting back on caffeine to popping melatonin.Recent research, though, suggests one modification could offer a better night’s rest, and it’s something babies experience on the regular.Nearly one in five US adults struggle to stay asleep, turning a necessity for health into a waking nightmare of daytime fatigue, trouble focusing and chronic illness.A small study published in the Journal of Sleep Research may have found an unexpected solution: rocking adults to sleep.Continuous, slow rocking was found to reduce nighttime awakenings and improve overall sleep quality in 16 adults with insomnia symptoms.The researchers behind the study wanted to know if physical movement could influence brain rhythms during sleep, particularly during deep sleep.To test the theory, the team recruited 16 adults who dealt with insomnia to spend one night on a stationary bed, then the following night on a bed that moved from side to side in a slow, continuous rocking motion.Participants’ brain waves, muscle activity and eye movement were measured throughout both nights, and a memory test was also administered before going to sleep and after waking up.Compared to the stationary night, the participants spent 34% less time awake in the middle of the night, as well as about 15% less time in the lightest and most easily interrupted stage of sleep.The participants also said their sleep quality improved, noting a 25% increase in a questionnaire on sleep experience.When we’re asleep, we progress through various stages, going from light sleep to deep sleep and eventually rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.Deep sleep is defined by specific electrical activity patterns in the brain, most notably slow oscillations that are large, rolling waves interspersed with brief, rapid bursts of electrical activity known as sleep spindles.These rhythms are ...