None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
We have previously enhanced slow wave sleep and cognition by playing acoustic tones during sleep. We aim to test whether we can enhance slow wave sleep and improve memory, cognition, and clearance of brain toxins such as amyloid and tau with a wearable device in the home. We hypothesise that acoustic stimulation will improve the quality of deep sleep with an at-home headband device, and that percentage of sleep enhancement will be correlated with percentage improvement in cognition and clearance of toxins.
Interventions
We aim to investigate whether acoustic stimulation of slow wave sleep delivered in the home can enhance deep sleep, cognition, and plasma clearance of toxins in healthy older adults.
Intervention (STIM): Acoustic stimulation of Slow wave sleep via phase-locked tones of pink noise
Participants will monitor their sleep and activity patterns at home for one week. On nights 4-7 of the week, participants will wear a Z-Max portable EEG headband (Hypnodyne) and a SleepPhones headband for four consecu
We aim to investigate whether acoustic stimulation of slow wave sleep delivered in the home can enhance deep sleep, cognition, and plasma clearance of toxins in healthy older adults. Intervention (STIM): Acoustic stimulation of Slow wave sleep via phase-locked tones of pink noise Participants will monitor their sleep and activity patterns at home for one week. On nights 4-7 of the week, participants will wear a Z-Max portable EEG headband (Hypnodyne) and a SleepPhones headband for four consecutive nights in their homes. The Z-Max headband will monitor and record their brain activity in real time, sending the data to a tablet, which will identify when the participant enters slow wave sleep, and administer 50ms tones of pink noise which will be played through the SleepPhones, timed with the up-phase of the slow wave. The tablet will run a custom algorithm to achieve slow wave prediction and timed administration of tones. Participants will be instructed to maintain an 8 hour sleep window each night of the monitoring period, and will be given an information booklet on how to run the procedure at home. After hours assistance from the trial coordinator will also be available to participants over the phone. At the end of the week, participants will attend an in-person laboratory cognitive testing session, wherein they will provide a small blood sample to assess the clearance of brain toxins. Participants' memory, processing speed, reaction time, alertness and language will also be assessed during these laboratory sessions by the research coordinator. A period of three nights with no intervention will separate the the stimulation week (STIM) from the control week (SHAM). Participants will be randomly allocated to complete either the STIM or the SHAM week first, balanced by sex. Adherence to the intervention will be monitored by presence of timestamped data files at the end of each week.
Sponsors
Monash University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Crossover
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
50 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Healthy older adults aged 50 - 75 years living in Melbourne.
Exclusion criteria
Healthy older adults free from comorbidies are sought for this study, and so participants must be healthy sleepers free from sleep disorders, not diagnosed with any major or minor neurocognitive disorder, neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease, epilepsy, or psychiatric disorders and not currently taking any prescription medications known to affect sleep, cognition, or brain health. Participants must be fluent in English, not current smokers, moderate alcohol and caffeine consumers, and not current shift workers. As part of the health screening, participants will undergo a neuropsychological assessment, 12-lead ECG and overnight sleep disorder screen to ensure no undiagnosed cognitive impairment, cardiac abnormalities, or sleep apnoea.
Outcome results
None listed