An electrical device that zaps the brain to induce deep sleep may some day give a whole new meaning to the term “power nap.”
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered they can artificially stimulate the production of slow brain waves that characterize the deepest form of sleep.
For the study, the researchers used a transcranial magnetic stimulation device on a group of sleeping volunteers. When placed on top of the head, the instrument sends a painless and apparently harmless magnetic signal through the skull and into the brain.