sleep

A warm, living sound for the hour before bed. It gives your busy mind something to rest on, so you can let go and fall asleep, and then it steps back.

the hypothesis

Not sleeping is, in practice, thoughts the mind can't let go of. In experience they turn into stress, and they always point away from now, to the past or the future.

The way to change that is simpler than it sounds: a physically pleasant feeling in the body. The sound is built to give you one. First a dark, grounding tone, low bass that draws attention down into the body. Then a dronescape you want to listen to, where attention drifts to the sound and lets go again, drifts and lets go, a repeated turn toward stillness.

Repeat that long enough and sleep is what follows. That is the hypothesis. We are going to test it. If it holds, it is huge.

how it works

Sleep is automatic. It comes on its own, when you stop holding on. In a rough patch, that breaks down. Your mind stays switched on, and the harder you try to sleep, the more awake you get. After a few bad nights it feeds itself, and the bed starts to feel like a place where you fight to sleep.

There is nothing wrong with you. Researchers call this hyperarousal, a nervous system running too hot to let go. It is a pattern your system learned, and anything learned can be unlearned.

A warm, steady sound gives your attention something to rest on. The thoughts loosen their grip, and you stop watching yourself try. You play it in the hour before bed and sink into it. Night by night, as falling asleep gets easier, your trust comes back, and you reach for it less.

listen

join the study

This is an open citizen research project. If you use the sound, your experience helps us learn. Take part, and we will send you a simple way to track your nights.

support the research

This is open, independent research, and we keep it freely available. Your support pays for the studies, the sound design, and the tools that make them, and keeps the findings open for anyone to use.