Swiss scientists have just demonstrated that rocking helps improve the quality and duration of sleep, as well as improve memory. .
Do like the babies, get rocked! According to Swiss research, this improves the quality of sleep and its duration, regardless of age. In 2011, a study was already showing the interest of rocking during a nap. If it allows you to fall asleep faster and more deeply, this time researchers have looked at its effects over a full night’s sleep. Conducted between the University of Geneva (Unige) and that of Lausanne (Unil), the work was published in the journal Current Biology.
Three nights to study sleep
18 participants were recruited by the research team. Their sleep was studied for three nights: the first allowed them to get used to the place, then they were slowly rocked the second night in a bed suspended by 4 cables. The movement was generated by a silent motor – a round trip lasted about 4 seconds and stretched about ten centimeters. Finally, the participants slept in a regular bed the last night.
The positive effects of rocking on memory
According to their observation, being rocked during the night makes it possible to fall asleep more easily and to have better quality sleep: deeper and with fewer micro-awakenings. Instruments were placed on the volunteers to record various parameters, including brain activity. The electroencephalograms readings showed the presence of slow brain waves in large quantities, precisely specific to deep sleep.
The researchers wanted to make sure that the volunteers had felt the benefits of better sleep. To do this, they studied the effects of rocking on their memory, knowing that deep sleep strengthens it. Before falling asleep, participants had to learn word pairs and then recite them the next day. The rocking gave them better results: they remembered more words.
Tests on mice
The researchers wanted to understand how the rocking could act on the brain. The Lausanne team carried out this part of the study using mice. The cages were simply placed on a shaker to rock them slowly, a tool used regularly in the laboratory. Two types of mice were used: the first were “normal”, the second had an impaired vestibular system (an organ located in the inner ear).
The rocking allowed the first group of mice to sleep longer, but no effect was seen on the others. For scientists, this is proof that the cradle acts on the vestibular system. They now want to continue their research to find out how this action on the inner ear is reflected in the cortex. The results could allow the development of new avenues of treatment to fight against insomnia or memory disorders.
.