1. Mediaite
  2. Gossip Cop
  3. Geekosystem
  4. Styleite
  5. SportsGrid
  6. The Mary Sue
  7. The Jane Dough
  8. The Braiser
Ice to See This

A Cool Brain Offers New Relief To Insomniacs

by Erin Podolak | 11:37 am, June 14th, 2011

Forget counting sheep. For many people, sleep doesn’t come easily, and no combination of comfy bed, soothing sounds, warm milk, or even prescription medication will do the trick. But, people suffering from insomnia may have another option when it comes to sleep aids. According to new research, wearing a cap that cools the brain reduces the amount of time it takes insomniacs to fall asleep.

The research was presented at the Sleep 2011 conference, the annual meeting of the Associated Profession of Sleep Studies. The cooling process, called frontal cerebral thermal transfer, was developed by Dr. Eric Nofzinger and Dr. Daniel Buysse from the Sleep Neuroimaging Research Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Cooling the brain is an effective way to help people with sleep difficulties because it slows metabolism in the frontal cortex, and insomnia is linked to increased metabolism in that area of the brain.

The researchers presented the results of a study that compared the time it took people to fall asleep. The study included 12 participants with insomnia and 12 without insomnia. All patients were fitted with soft plastic caps that contained tubing that circulated water. The temperature of the water could be controlled to either neutral, moderate, or maximum cool temperatures.

The researchers recorded how well the participants slept with and without the caps and the effects of the different temperature levels. The results showed that insomnia patients with maximum cooling effects took approximately 13 minutes to fall sleep, and stayed asleep for 89% of the time they were in bed.

The study showed that with the cooling caps the insomnia sufferers were able to achieve a similar level of sleep as patients who had never experienced insomnia. The patients with no history of sleep difficulty fell asleep in an average of 16 minutes and stayed asleep 89% of the time.

The sleeping caps could prove to be extremely useful because unlike sleeping pills, the caps do not have detrimental side effects like dependency. The researchers also say that only 25% of patients on sleeping pills are satisfied with the drugs, so an alternative treatment is sorely needed.

(via Los Angeles Times)

  • http://twitter.com/Gauldar Rob

    Cool… like the other side of the pillow.

  • http://twitter.com/Gauldar Rob

    Cool… like the other side of the pillow.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DHZSCUW37VJEHNHF67RSXYTGPU Boo

    I wonder if this could eventually be used as an anesthetic?

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2bk3gkl

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2a7usxg

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2a7usxg

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2a7usxg

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2a7usxg

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2a7usxg

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2a7usxg

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2a7usxg

  • Anonymous

    madeshopping.net

  • Anonymous

    madeshopping.net

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2a7usxg

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2a7usxg

  • Don McCabe

    When might Dr. Nofzinger offer the cooling cap to the public?  Thank you.

  • http://www.facebook.com/kanegruber Kane Gruber

    Is this acting as a placebo or is it really working? THAT’S what I want to know.

  • Marcus Caldwell

    I have tried to contact  Dr. Eric Nofzinger  @ the U of Pennsylvania and have left many messages at his clinic without one return phone call.  I also contacted Associated Profession of Sleep Studies and those associated with Sleep 2011 and this study.  The only information I get is Dr. Nofzinger is working on a patent and will be marketing/selling it himself sometime in the future the future being 2+ years.  That will be a lot of sleep I have lost!!!

  • Marcus Caldwell

    I have tried to contact  Dr. Eric Nofzinger  @ the U of Pennsylvania and have left many messages at his clinic without one return phone call.  I also contacted Associated Profession of Sleep Studies and those associated with Sleep 2011 and this study.  The only information I get is Dr. Nofzinger is working on a patent and will be marketing/selling it himself sometime in the future the future being 2+ years.  That will be a lot of sleep I have lost!!!

  • Nancy Rose Schilli

    I’ve typically turned down the heat which helps. I guess this is the next step from that. Interesting.


Abrams Media Network click here for advertising opportunities

© 2012 Geekosystem, LLC | About Us | Advertise | Newsletter | Jobs | Privacy | User Agreement | Disclaimer | Power Grid FAQ | Contact | Archives | RSS RSS
Dan Abrams, Founder | Power Grid by Sound Strategies | Hosting by Datagram