A new study conducted at the University of Geneva has found that the key to preventing nightmares is playing specific sounds in our ears using a wireless headband. In trials, the sound of a piano played during sleep reduced the risk of distressing and frightening dreams for those suffering from chronic nightmares. The piano sound was also associated with positive daytime thoughts when the patients were awake. After receiving this new treatment, the patients' nightmares significantly decreased, while their positive dreams increased over time.
The study's author, Lampros Perogamvros from the Sleep Laboratory at Geneva University Hospitals, stated that there is a close relationship between the types of emotions we experience in dreams and our emotional well-being. Based on this observation, the experiments were conducted.
To test whether exposure to sound during sleep could reduce the risk of experiencing nightmares and disturbing dreams, Perogamvros and his colleagues gathered 36 patients, half of whom received the new treatment. During the study, a piano key was played every 10 seconds, and patients were asked to imagine a positive event that had occurred during the day. The goal was to link the piano sound with the imagined positive scenario.
When the sound was played again during the sleep of the patients equipped with a headset to receive the sound wirelessly, a significant decrease in the frequency of nightmares was observed after just one week of the experiment, along with an increase in positive dreams compared to those who did not undergo the same treatment method. The researchers stated that this new combined treatment should be tried on larger scales and among different populations to determine its effectiveness. These findings also open up new potential avenues for treating other disorders such as insomnia and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress, such as past memories and anxiety, according to the British newspaper "Daily Mail."
