Subjects will be in the laboratory for 7 days/6 nights. Thus, the device uses 'quiet audio tones' (sub-awareness) to increase slow waves, which can enhance sleep quality/depth, thereby enhancing subsequent waking cognitive performance without the unwanted sedating effects of medications on cognitive functions during emergency awakenings. The SmartSleep technology uses two small sensors in the headband to continuously detect the brain's slow wave sleep (delta/theta frequency) in real time, and a closed-loop algorithm customizes the timing and volume of tones to optimize the sleep pattern. This study will use SmartSleep (Philips) technology to determine what effect the device has on daytime cognitive performance after emergent awakenings from sleep in a chronic sleep restriction paradigm. Sleep slow waves support system and synaptic consolidation by promoting specific patterns of neuromodulatory and electric activities, and subjective sleep quality is related to the size and number of slow waves that occur nightly. There is a need for a technology that can improve sleep quality in space and biologically maximize the performance benefits of limited sleep duration, without unduly affecting the ability of astronauts to awaken abruptly and respond to an in-flight emergency. Why Should I Register and Submit Results?Īdequate healthy sleep is essential in spaceflight to ensure that astronauts maintain a high level of cognitive performance capability and do so without undue stress.

Philips smartsleep articles