This is an experiment in sound and sleep/wake cycles.
Decades of scientific research have shed light on the modalities in which the sleeping brain listens to the world. More recent studies have found that violent wake-up sounds provoke negative consequences during the day (sleep inertia).
Out of curiosity for these mysterious phenomena, I created a collection of sounds which try to pull the brain out of sleep in the least invasive way possible, as slowly and gently as possible.
BACKGROUND :
The brain's reactions to sound during sleep have been systematically studied since the 60's. We know that the sleeping brain uses a series of parameters to decide whether one or more auditory stimuli are important enough to wake up the body. We also know that changes in the soundscape are completely filtered out during specific time-frames.
I reviewed several papers, and I collected a set of sonic rules. I tried to use these rules to design five alarms, ordered according to the ability they should have to infiltrate the auditory system during sleep. The first alarm is the more gentle, the last the more effective.
These alarms are not aimed at waking you up at all costs. If you are in a very deep sleep, it could happen that your brain will continue to dream. So, don't use these alarms if you ABSOLUTELY need to wake up to catch a plane, or to go to a meeting. In this case, combine them with a traditional, intrusive alarm, maybe set 5 minutes later. This is why I used the term "PRE-wake-up sounds", and not "wake-up sounds".
Experiment with them if you are trying to find a rhythm in your sleep/wake cycle : they will help you waking up at the same time every day, but will let you continue to sleep if your body needs so.
INSTRUCTIONS :
Start with the first alarm, setting a very low playback volume in your device. It will take a few days to find the right balance between your volume settings, your device's loudspeakers response, and the acoustic qualities of the room where you sleep. When this ideal balance is found, depending on the sleep phase you are in, you should find yourself awake 2/3 minutes after the start of the alarm.
Once you have found this point, lower the volume another notch. Continue to iterate this process until you wake up 60%/70% of the times - but continue to sleep when you are tired.
Don't get too attached to one of the sounds : research has shown that if your brain learns the function of a sound, the sound becomes semantically significant. This will wake you up too easily. You don't want these sounds to work too well - so you need to unlearn their function, by changing the sound you use, from time to time.
credits
released June 3, 2020
Cover Image : sculpted architectural sound sketch by sean michael lawler | architect based in Florida, USA.
www.seanmichaellawler.net
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