Off to the land of nod... with the space lamp

ABEDSIDE lamp that harnesses technology designed to help astronauts keep a normal sleep cycle is being used by insomniacs.

In a trial at Sheffield Hallam University of 12 insomniacs, half of those who used the device experienced an improvement in the quality of their sleep, while 40 per cent slept for longer, compared to using a meditation CD.

The SleepCogni, which will cost £199 when it goes on sale next summer, has an articulated, repositionable arm and a lamp that sits over the user’s head while they are in bed, emitting light and sounds that promote sleep.

The lamp communicates wirelessly with a ‘trigger’ worn on a finger that monitors the user’s heart rate, mental alertness, skin temperature and movement.

On the first night, it also calculates their resting heart rate. As the rate drops to the resting rate, LED lights come on. An on-off sequence of the lights slows and becomes dimmer as the heart rate drops.

The colours also change, going from green to amber to red. Nasa uses similar technology on the International Space Station to help astronauts differentiate between day and night to reduce daytime sleepiness.

Speakers in the lamp also provide specially designed music developed by Martyn Ware, who was part of 1980s pop band The Human League.

Once the user is asleep, say developers Brain 2020, the boom automatically and silently moves back to an upright position at the side of the bed.

The shape of the lamp means the lights and sounds are focused on the user and not on a partner.

The device also has a so-called sunrise feature to aid awakening, where the lights get progressively brighter over a 30-minute period. SleepCogni invento Richard Mills, who suffered insomnia for many years, said: ‘I worked for a major internet company and was involved in a lot of travelling to and from the US which affected my body clock. I tried every gadget but nothing worked.

‘Artificial lighting can interfere with our body clock, delaying the natural cues our body receives throughout the day to which phase we are in and ultimately the onset of sleep.’

Difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep for long enough to feel refreshed the next morning is estimated to regularly affect about a third of adults. Reasons include stress and the side effects of some medications, but in some cases a cause is never found.

More than ten million prescriptions for sleeping pills are handed out each year in the UK, but these only tackle the symptom rather than the cause.

Dr Guy Leschziner, a consultant neurologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London, said: ‘Exposure to bright light, especially in the evening, is known to have potentially major effects on sleep quality.

‘It sounds as if this device may help people relax through the colour sequence of lights.’