Hammock Sleep Study

WhiteBear

WhiteBear

Jedi Master
_http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/06/20/137300311/why-hammocks-make-sleep-easier-deeper?ft=1&f=1001

Why Hammocks Make Sleep Easier, Deeper
by Nancy Shute
03:05 pm
June 20, 2011


Napping in a hammock is one of the more delightful tasks of summer, and Swiss researchers say they now know why.

The gentle rocking motion makes people fall asleep faster, and they sleep deeper. Those changes in brain activity may inspire new ways to help insomniacs, the researchers say.

Neuroscientists at the University of Geneva rigged up a bed so it would sway gently from side to side every four seconds, considerably slower than the pendulum on a cuckoo clock. "This rocking is very gentle, very smooth, oscillating every four seconds," Sophie Schwartz, a professor of neurology who led the study, told Shots. "It's not like rocking like you would see some mothers rocking their babies, it's more gentle."


A dozen adult research subjects napped on the bed for 45 minutes while scalp electrodes recorded brain activity. During one nap the bed swayed; for another, it was stationary.

The scientists weren't too surprised to find that people fell asleep faster when the bed rocked. But they were surprised at the big difference that rocking made in brain activity.

Rocking increased the length of N2 sleep, a form of non-REM sleep that takes up about half of a good night's rest. It also increased slow oscillations and "sleep spindles." Sleep spindles are brief bursts of brain activity, which look like sudden up-and-down scribbles on an electroencephalogram.

"We were basically trying to find a scientific demonstration of this notion of rocking to sleep," Michel Muehlethaler, a professor of neuroscience who conducted the research with Schwartz, tells Shots. The fact that the brain waves changed so much, he says, was "totally unexpected." The results were published in the journal Current Biology.

Sleep spindles are associated with tranquil sleep in noisy environments and may be a sign that the brain is trying to calm sleepers stuck in them. Spindles also have been linked with the ability to remember new information. And that is associated with the brain's ability to rewire itself, known as brain plasticity.

That ability is important in recovery from stroke, and the researchers say that rocking while sleeping should be tested on people with strokes or other brain injuries. Rocking is "changing things in your brain," Schwartz says.

The Swiss scientists are eager to try the rocking bed on night-time sleepers, to see if it might help with insomnia and other common sleep disorders. But Shots readers may not want to wait for those results, and instead head directly to the back yard and their own time-tested research tool, the hammock.
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Intriguing and coincidental. I was just looking at a hammock system for my next backpacking trip. This article makes me want to try it out even more now.
 
WhiteBear said:
_http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/06/20/137300311/why-hammocks-make-sleep-easier-deeper?ft=1&f=1001

Why Hammocks Make Sleep Easier, Deeper
by Nancy Shute
03:05 pm
June 20, 2011


Napping in a hammock is one of the more delightful tasks of summer, and Swiss researchers say they now know why.

The gentle rocking motion makes people fall asleep faster, and they sleep deeper. Those changes in brain activity may inspire new ways to help insomniacs, the researchers say.

Neuroscientists at the University of Geneva rigged up a bed so it would sway gently from side to side every four seconds, considerably slower than the pendulum on a cuckoo clock. "This rocking is very gentle, very smooth, oscillating every four seconds," Sophie Schwartz, a professor of neurology who led the study, told Shots. "It's not like rocking like you would see some mothers rocking their babies, it's more gentle."


A dozen adult research subjects napped on the bed for 45 minutes while scalp electrodes recorded brain activity. During one nap the bed swayed; for another, it was stationary.

The scientists weren't too surprised to find that people fell asleep faster when the bed rocked. But they were surprised at the big difference that rocking made in brain activity.

Rocking increased the length of N2 sleep, a form of non-REM sleep that takes up about half of a good night's rest. It also increased slow oscillations and "sleep spindles." Sleep spindles are brief bursts of brain activity, which look like sudden up-and-down scribbles on an electroencephalogram.

"We were basically trying to find a scientific demonstration of this notion of rocking to sleep," Michel Muehlethaler, a professor of neuroscience who conducted the research with Schwartz, tells Shots. The fact that the brain waves changed so much, he says, was "totally unexpected." The results were published in the journal Current Biology.

Sleep spindles are associated with tranquil sleep in noisy environments and may be a sign that the brain is trying to calm sleepers stuck in them. Spindles also have been linked with the ability to remember new information. And that is associated with the brain's ability to rewire itself, known as brain plasticity.

That ability is important in recovery from stroke, and the researchers say that rocking while sleeping should be tested on people with strokes or other brain injuries. Rocking is "changing things in your brain," Schwartz says.

The Swiss scientists are eager to try the rocking bed on night-time sleepers, to see if it might help with insomnia and other common sleep disorders. But Shots readers may not want to wait for those results, and instead head directly to the back yard and their own time-tested research tool, the hammock.
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Thanks for posting this White Bear, that is interesting.

When I was in college I went through a phase of getting rid of things. I gave money to strangers, sold all my belongings except some clothes and books, including my car and bed.

I slept on a hammock for 6-months or so, though some people found it strange. In retrospect I think a lot of those things I did were simply to be strange.

I may still have it around somewhere too....
 
It does make sense. Just like, "rock a bye baby, in the treetop"--why should we adults stopped being rocked?
;) :lol: Some say that waterbeds do the same kind of relaxing movement or lulling movement.

My problem with hammocks (the kind most people think of that is strung between trees) is that the hammock hurts my back and neck because of the way the spine has to curve when in a hammock. Maybe someone has made one that stays flat somehow?
 
My problem with hammocks (the kind most people think of that is strung between trees) is that the hammock hurts my back and neck because of the way the spine has to curve when in a hammock. Maybe someone has made one that stays flat somehow?
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Hi Solarmother, I think you may have tried to hang your hammock between two trees that where to close together or given it too much slack.
you want to have it stretched flat when you first put it up, nice and level, then stand with your back to it , pull one edge over your head, pull the other edge under your behind, and lean back and turn as you fall into it.
also the only way to get into a hammock IN a sleeping bag :)
you should then be in a flat v shape , back straight neck straight, but feet elevated(helps with varicose veins if you have them)
with your center of gravity the lowest spot

I know this since I have been a fan of Hammocks since I was 5 ,when an uncle gave me a Guatemalan Ikat Hammock for Xmas,and I managed to get my parents to hang it in my room and let me sleep in it (not all the time but I would have if they had let me)
I have camped with a Hammock by stretching a rope over the top and putting a tarp over it.
also great for putting babies to sleep,hang Hammock low( still ''stretched and flat'')
put baby in it, kneel next to it and breastfeed for a few minutes,stand up :)
cause if you lay down with babs, you most likely will fall asleep too :D

Swiss researchers, my foot,all south American Paleo tribes have known about the benefits of rocking while you sleep since , like, forever
and ( sorry no source) those tribes don't even have a word for backache in their languages
 
Hammocks protect from ticks, snakes, spiders, scorpions etc. when camping in the back country. They are very light for backpacking and be sure to include mosquito netting and a small tarp for rainy weather.
 
well this is a bit funny. I am looking for a hammonck myself for camping this summer. I found two which seems like a fair choise but quite expensive though. http://hennessyhammock.com/ and http://www.trekmates.co.uk/online-shop/protection/trekmatesreg-jungle-hammock-net
 
DHTH said:
well this is a bit funny. I am looking for a hammonck myself for camping this summer. I found two which seems like a fair choise but quite expensive though. http://hennessyhammock.com/ and http://www.trekmates.co.uk/online-shop/protection/trekmatesreg-jungle-hammock-net
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DHTH,

Look into the ENO systems. They're much cheaper.
_http://www.rei.com/search?query=eno&button.x=0&button.y=0
 
Ahhh hammocks. I found these instructions on how to make them yourself. I bet it would save some dough.

_http://www.hammocks.com/howtomakeyourownhammockarticle.cfm

Although I think this tutorial is a bit over done with the braiding of the rope like the 'classic' hammock. Couldn't you just get the same material tents are made of and some rope and do something similar to those expensive brands?

Hmmm sounds like a fun project!


ScottD said:
DHTH said:
well this is a bit funny. I am looking for a hammonck myself for camping this summer. I found two which seems like a fair choise but quite expensive though. http://hennessyhammock.com/ and http://www.trekmates.co.uk/online-shop/protection/trekmatesreg-jungle-hammock-net
Click to expand...

DHTH,

Look into the ENO systems. They're much cheaper.
_http://www.rei.com/search?query=eno&button.x=0&button.y=0
Click to expand...
 
..may be a sign that the brain is trying to calm sleepers stuck in them. Spindles also have been linked with the ability to remember new information. And that is associated with the brain's ability to rewire itself, known as brain plasticity.
Click to expand...
Perhaps this explains the instinct to rock back and forward during or after a traumatic experience?
 
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