Alarm tones, music and their elements: Analysis of reported waking sounds to counteract sleep inertia

Abstract

Sleep inertia is a potentially dangerous reduction in human alertness and occurs 0-4 hours after waking. The type of sound people set as their alarm for waking has been shown to reduce the effects of sleep inertia, however, the elemental musical factors that underpin these waking sounds and their relationships remain unclear. The goal of this research is to understand how a particular sound or music chosen to assist waking may counteract sleep inertia, and more specifically, what elements of these sounds may contribute to its reduction. Through an anonymous, self-report online questionnaire, fifty participants (N = 50) reported attributes of their preferred waking sound, their feeling towards the waking sound, and perceived sleep inertia after waking. This data enabled the analysis and comparison between these responses to identify statistically significant relationships. Our results did not return any significant association between sleep inertia and the reported waking sound type, nor the subject's feeling towards their sound. However, the analysis did reveal that a sound which is ranked as melodic by participants shows a significant relationship to reports of reductions in perceived sleep inertia, and in contrast, sound rated as neutral (neither unmelodic nor melodic) returns a significant relationship to the reports of increases in perceived sleep inertia. Additionally, our secondary analysis revealed that a sound rated as melodic is considered to be more rhythmic than a melodically neutral interpretation. Together these findings raise questions regarding the impact melody and rhythm may hold with respect to sleep inertia intensity. Considering that the implementation of auditory assisted awakening is a common occurrence, the musical elements of a chosen waking sound may be an area to further interrogate with respect to counteracting sleep inertia. OPEN ACCESSCitation: McFarlane SJ, Garcia JE, Verhagen DS, Dyer AG (2020) Alarm tones, music and their elements: Analysis of reported waking sounds to counteract sleep inertia. PLoS ONE 15(1): e0215788. https://doi.org/10.

Auditory Countermeasures for Sleep Inertia: An Ecological Study Examining the Influence of Melody and Rhythm

“…The results obtained from this study present new evidence for the potential of auditory alarms to effectively counteract the inhibiting symptoms of SI . Specifically, this study’s results support previous research showing a significant relationship between the reported melodicity of participants’ waking sound and a measure of perceived SI reduction (34).…”

“…Awakening countermeasures have been researched in several contexts and themes, which may be considered as extensions or augmentations of ubiquitous human behaviours and routines. These include; caffeine (14, 22–25), light (16, 24, 26–28), temperature (29, 30), post-awakening routines (24, 31), sound (32–34), and stress (35).…”

“…Tassi et al (32) concluded that pink noise (75 dB) can reduce SI when deployed as an intense waking alarm, while Hayashi (33) detected that excitatory music, particularly high-preference popular music (60 dB) as specified by participants has the potential to reduce the impact of SI after a short nap. Through an ecologically valid approach McFarlane et al (34) revealed that participant alarm sounds perceived as melodic showed a significant relationship to reductions in perceived sleep inertia, as compared to ‘neither unmelodic nor melodic’ counterparts. Additionally, it was shown that a melodic alarm sound is perceived to be more rhythmic than a neutral interpretation (34).…”

“…Through an ecologically valid approach McFarlane et al (34) revealed that participant alarm sounds perceived as melodic showed a significant relationship to reductions in perceived sleep inertia, as compared to ‘neither unmelodic nor melodic’ counterparts. Additionally, it was shown that a melodic alarm sound is perceived to be more rhythmic than a neutral interpretation (34). Taken together, these three studies discussed above demonstrate that sound and music are plausible awakening countermeasures for SI , and with additional research we may establish a refined understanding of the auditory aesthetics and musical mechanisms required for the best practice design of such stimuli.…”

“…In the current study we examine the influence saliently melodic and rhythmic alarm tone treatments have on SI immediately post-awakening in ecological conditions comparative to a non-melodic control. Through this investigation we aim build on McFarlane et al’s (34) initial findings to further understand if and how melody may assist in counteracting SI , and the relationship rhythm may have to SI reduction when tested in isolation. Within the broader context of auditory assisted awakening, our goal is to provide evidence that may be expanded upon and referenced in the future development and testing of sound stimuli to counteract SI in natural, auditory complex surroundings.…”