rocking motion

She led a study involving 12 volunteers who were asked to nap on a custom-made "experimental hammock" bed that could either stay still or rock gently.All the participants were naturally good sleepers who did not typically nap. Each took two 45-minute afternoon naps, one with the bed stationary and the other with it in motion. At the same time, their brainwaves were monitored by electroencephalogram (EEG) electrodes attached to the scalp.

Here's what they found:

• Every one of the participants fell asleep more quickly during their rocking nap.
• A majority (eight out of 12) said they found the rocking nap "more pleasant" than the nap on the stationary bed.
• During the rocking nap, all of the sleepers moved more quickly from Stage 1 to Stage 2 of their sleep cycle. Stage 2 is where we typically spend half of our sleep time over the course of a night.
• While rocking, sleepers showed significant increases in the types of brain-wave activity that are specifically associated with deeper, more restful and more continuous sleep.

"Swinging" sleep might also improve memory and brain-damage repair, they say.