[The effectiveness of suggestive techniques to improve sleep is enhanced by combining with sound stimulus based on...

To test the hypothesis of the difference between 3 means of sleep latency (SL) during falling asleep: accompanied by audio stimulus embedded with binaural beats (BB); after listening to suggestive body relaxation instructions; accompanied by audio stimulus embedded with BB after listening to suggestive body relaxation instructions (that is the combination of 1 and 2).

For the purpose of the study, a special Android application was developed and installed on the subjects' individual smartphones. The application assumed screen tapping test to control for fall-asleep process. The data of 63 subjects presented with the 3 types of sound stimuli mentioned above in a counterbalanced scheme were analyzed.

Statistical analysis confirmed the initial hypothesis about the dependence of LS on the type of sound stimulus (p<0.05). Pairwise SL comparison showed reliable difference between stimuli (3) - 1149±113 s, and (1) - 1469±89 s (p<0.01). SL for the stimulus (2) had an intermediate value of 1269±112 s (difference from (1) at a trend level).

The use of background sound embedded with BBs enhances the effect of suggestive instructions to improve sleep. But it is the suggestion as a psychotherapeutic technique that is determinant.