'Rocking beds' for adults will help them sleep like a baby, study suggests

“Rocking beds” could lead the next big sleep revolution if the bedding industry applies new research out of Europe.

In two studies published Thursday in Current Biology, scientists in Geneva found that “rhythmic mechanosensory stimulation” -- or rocking -- can improve sleep. One of the studies involved mice, but a second study tested the effects of rocking on sleep in 18 healthy young adults.

“Rocking boosts deep sleep, sleep maintenance, and memory in healthy sleepers,” the researchers wrote.

The slow, repeated movement of rocking, using mechanized rocking beds modulated brain wave activity and strengthened memory, which is consolidated during certain phases of sleep.

The intent of the new studies was to assess what impact the movement has on the brain during sleep. The 18 young adults were allowed one night of sleep before the study to get used to the environment and were then assessed for two experimental nights, some on rocking beds, some on identical but motionless beds.

Assessment showed that participants fell asleep faster with the rocking stimulation. Once asleep, they woke up less, slept more deeply, and spent more time in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.

To assess how rocking to sleep influenced memory, researchers provided word pairings for the test subjects to study. Their recollection of the pairings was assessed the next morning and was better if the subject has been rocked during sleep.

Further study is needed, but the researchers said that the implications could be great for people who struggle with sleep.

“Together with the companion animal study, the present human experiment thus provides new insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the effects of rocking stimulations on sleep,” they wrote. “These results may be relevant for the development of non-pharmacological therapies for patients with insomnia or mood disorders, or even for aging populations, who frequently suffer from decreased deep sleep and/or from memory impairments.”

Studies continue to show that poor sleep impacts health. In another study published Thursday in the journal Science, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine found that lack of sleep increased the levels of the protein tau, a key factor in Alzheimer’s disease.