The Sensitivity of the Sleeper
We’ve known for a long time a simple division of sleepers into very sensitive versus not-so-sensitive categories has very real practical applications. Twenty-plus years ago, our clinical sleep center staff discovered sleep quality actually improves in certain individuals wearing earplugs. Though we never published research showing improved slow wave sleep or sleep consolidation, the reports of more refreshing sleep or more continuous sleep were readily apparent.
New research on eye masks demonstrates the same phenomenon and much more elegantly with a precise and controlled study. Not only did some individuals gain deeper sleep but also attained enhancements in cognitive performance.
Unfortunately, many in sleep medicine may not support the use of these easily applied OTC interventions if they do not accept the changes/improvements are physiologically driven. If sleep professionals only think in terms of pills for insomniacs, as the best example, they might not prove receptive to the possibility of an underlying sleep breathing disorder and the consequent PHYSICAL sleep fragmentation.
It is this sleep fragmentation that causes or contributes to the sensitive sleeper’s excessive sensitivity, because lighter sleep means they will become more readily arousable from sleep. Thus, sensitive sleepers might benefit from anything to reduce their reactions to external stimuli such as light or noise.
Continued evolution of this OTC technology is likely to improve the sleep of many individuals who are unwilling or unable to visit a sleep center.