From rocking beds to smartphones: how do stimulations applied during and before sleep modulate human sleep?

The aim of my thesis was to investigate how different sensory stimulations delivered prior to or during sleep could affect sleep parameters, as well as subsequent daytime functioning. In this respect, we first looked at the impact of rocking stimulation (0.25Hz) during a whole nigh of sleep using polysomnographic-EEG recordings on good sleepers. The beneficial modulation of sleep variables led us, in a second time, to test the rocking bed in a population of poor sleepers akin to patients with primary insomnia (N=12). In the second project, we investigated the impact of the use of screen electronic devices (SED - e.g., smartphones, tablets) before sleep on sleep habits in a large sample of adolescents. Comparison between a baseline and an experimental period of SED use restriction after 9pm demonstrated that the negative consequences of SED use on sleep could be significantly reduced by a simple recommendation on pre-sleep activities