Hammocks are perfect for lounging beneath the old oak tree on a cool summer day. Simply grab a good book or a radio and the hammock offers the ultimate in rest and relaxation. Hammocks are not only great for lounging, according to the findings of a new study conducted by a team of Swiss and French scientists, but also for taking a deep, restorative and replenishing power nap.
The study published in the journal Current Biology found that the rocking motion of a hammock improves sleep quality and helps people fall asleep faster. To determine the effect of the rocking motion on sleep, the team of scientists used machines to scan the brain, eyes and muscle movements of 12 male volunteers.
The group of men were not habitual nappers but agreed to try an afternoon snooze on both a rocking bed and stationary bed.
The study excluded women as the menstrual cycle can affect electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring.
Due to a malfunctioning EEG in one subject and too much anxiety to fall asleep in another, scientists removed two men from the final analysis. The remaining 10 subjects, however, all experienced an increased in the quality and deepness of their 45-minute nap in the rocking bed when compared to the stationary bed. All 10 subjects also fell asleep faster in the rocking bed.
“We observed a faster transition to sleep in each and every subject in the swinging condition, a result that supports the intuitive notion of facilitation of sleep associated with this procedure,” said co-author Dr. Michael Muhlethaler. “Surprisingly, we also observed a dramatic boosting of certain types of sleep-related brain wave oscillations.”
Scientists found the swaying motion of the bed to increase the duration of N2 sleep, a form of non-rapid eye movement sleep that normally accounts for about half a good night’s sleep.
Participants in the swaying bed also showed more slow oscillation in the brain as well as sleep spindles, or flurries of activity that correspond with a deeper level of sleep.
Despite these findings, scientists are still yet to determine how this concept works. The findings of the twofold study, which aimed to test both whether rocking does soothe sleep and how this might work, only answer one part of the question - the how and why remain a mystery.
To help explain the phenomenon of the rocking hammock, Swiss scientists suggest that the effect of the swinging motion on our senses may help synchronize brain activity into a pattern associated with sleep.
“It is a common belief that rocking induces sleep,” said Sophie Schwartz, of the University of Geneva, one of the co-authors of the study. “We irresistibly fall asleep in a rocking chair and since immemorial times we cradle our babies to sleep.”
These findings help explain why it is so easy to fall asleep while lying in a gently rocking hammock. Furthermore, the study may help researchers discover how to improve sleep quality over a full night and find potential treatments for sleep disorders such as insomnia.
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