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Matsushita Designed Sleep Room

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the when-the-bough-breaks dept.

wersh writes "Matsushita Electric Works has developed a room that helps people sleep. They've been letting their employees take 30-minute sessions in the room and so far, not one has failed to fall asleep, they claim. They plan to open the sleep room to the public next week and intend to start selling it in June 2005 for 30,000 USD."

195 comments

  1. Eheh by dotslashconfig · · Score: 5, Funny

    And what they don't tell you is that they make those employees work for 72 hours straight before they head into the sleep room. Hehehe...

    1. Re:Eheh by Laivincolmo · · Score: 1, Funny

      Their business model seems a bit flawed seeing as they can only create one room. Until the technology to clone Ben Stein is discovered that is...

    2. Re:Eheh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      This room is bogus. I've been in it 29 minutes and nothing... hold on, though...
      *wham!*
      LKGJ%KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
      (snoring)

    3. Re:Eheh by Ziviyr · · Score: 2, Funny

      And what they don't tell you is that they make those employees work for 72 hours straight before they head into the sleep room. Hehehe...

      Dude, he's dead!

      We'll call it sleep for statistical purposes....

      --

      Someone set us up the bomb, so shine we are!
    4. Re:Eheh by SmasKenS · · Score: 1

      Okej, haven't read the article yet, but it makes me wonder. Is the room so expensive because it comes with a very advanced targeting system witch will stick a needle in you or shoot you with a tranquilizer dart?

      Try not to fall asleep in such a room. :)

      --
      -- - e.m.p.t.y - --
    5. Re:Eheh by Brian+Dennehy · · Score: 0

      Yes, the makers of the Sleep Room built the Sleep Room because they were so fatigued from working on the Sleep Room.

    6. Re:Eheh by Stonent1 · · Score: 1

      That only sounds like a lot because many of us are lazy Americans.

    7. Re:Eheh by ziggy_zero · · Score: 1

      People also fail to notice the small chloroform vents upon entering.....

      --
      I belong to the ______ generation.
    8. Re:Eheh by KermitJunior · · Score: 1

      The above posts made me blow soda through my nose! I haven't laughed that good in a long time.

      --
      There is a Universal Life Value Check it
  2. We already have these in the US! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    And they come with the house or apartment. Its called the bedroom.

    1. Re:We already have these in the US! by Stevyn · · Score: 1, Funny

      Yeah, but they made it smaller and more efficient!

    2. Re:We already have these in the US! by grazzy · · Score: 0

      Those crazy japanese...

    3. Re:We already have these in the US! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The bedroom is at home rite? Here in Denmark we also have rooms at work for sleeping .. we call them "meeting rooms". You have to sleep sitting upright tho.

    4. Re:We already have these in the US! by double-oh+three · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You know, I can never get to sleep in less than thirty minutes in a bedroom. On my keyboard, on the couch or chair, but never actually in bed. I always lay awake for at least an hour to two before I fall asleep.

      --
      "For years, I struggled with reality... but I'm happy to say I finally won out over it." -- Elwood P. Dowd
    5. Re:We already have these in the US! by Dmala · · Score: 1

      I would *love* to know what causes that. In any situation where I am not supposed to sleep, in my cubical, in a classroom, driving (scary!), I can be asleep in seconds. Anytime sleep is allowed (or required), I'm wide awake. It's like my own body is working against me.

    6. Re:We already have these in the US! by johannesg · · Score: 1
      You could simply be trying to fit too much activity in a day. That means you are too tired when doing things, and will easily drift off to sleep, but when you are in bed you feel anxiety about all the things you should be doing, but aren't.

      If that is true, one thing you should try to do it cut down on the number of activities you take part in. An easy one is reading the web...

  3. Prior art by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    In college, we called a room that would put you to sleep in 30 minutes or less a "lecture hall"

    1. Re:Prior art by kfg · · Score: 1

      Whenever I need to put someone to sleep I place them in a Papasan with a nice cuddly "bankie" and warm glass of cognac (if they are of appropriate age) and read them Moby Dick out loud while giving learned commentary on the text.

      15 minutes tops every time.

      KFG

    2. Re:Prior art by Art+Tatum · · Score: 1

      I read Moby Dick for a book report in 8th grade. The story itself is compelling but the mindless detail on completely tangential subject matter makes it nearly impossible to get through. The cook's Sermon to the Sharks is entertaining though. So there are at least 3 pages that are interesting.

    3. Re:Prior art by kfg · · Score: 2, Informative

      Took me three trys to get through it the first time. Now it's the one book I couldn't live without.

      "There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness. And there is a Catskill eagle in some souls that can alike dive down into the deepest gorges, and soar out of them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces. And even if he forever flies withing the gorge, that gorge is in the mountains, so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than other birds upon the plain, even though they soar."

      Great stuff.

      It really helps to know your Bible though. The whole book, right from the three famous opening words, is packed with Biblical allusions. "Call me Ishmael" sets up the entire tenor of the book, but only if you understand the reference.

      In my case it probably doesn't hurt that I have an interest in whaling though. My mother grew up in New Bedford, I grew up with paintings of the Charles W. Morgan about the house, and one of its ship laterns is just across the room from me right now (it was partially stripped before being sent off to the Mystic Seaport and my Grandfather picked up a few bits of it).

      If you don't have that interest I can see where it might drag in a few places.

      And as I said, it did me three tries to get through it the first time myself, and I'm the sort that doesn't understand why most people these days have trouble reading works from the sixteen and seventeen hundreds.

      KFG

    4. Re:Prior art by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A sleep room would be SOOOOO easy to make. Just have a pipe go into the room that would slowly leak carbon monoxide into the room. Monitor the levels and vitals of everyone to make sure they're still alive. They'll go to sleep whether they want to or not. Now the purpose of this is...???

    5. Re:Prior art by Art+Tatum · · Score: 1

      I have a suspicion that books like this were something like travelogues for those living before the mid-20th century. But I have heard that Melville was always attempting to make a real point with the book. What that point actually was escapes me though. Maybe I need to go back and read it again now that I'm older. It might make more sense this time.

  4. also known as Technics Panasonic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative


    Matusushita is a huge company who are probably Sony's main rival, they are of course the parent company of Panasonic and numerous other brands of electronics, they usually like to keep a low profile

    1. Re:also known as Technics Panasonic by Prof.Phreak · · Score: 1

      Judging by the quality of laptop CD-RW drives they produce, you can't spell Matsushita without...

      --

      "If anything can go wrong, it will." - Murphy

  5. I'd like to read the article, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    I kept falling asleep for some strange reason. Can someone post a google cache or something? Oh wait, I've found it in google...it's all ...about... yawn... snnnnnzzxxxxx
    snooooorrrreee

  6. $30,000 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Thats a whole load of money. Surely it would be cheaper just to take a year off work and get yourself sorted out. Or alternatively spend $30,000 on Coffee.

    1. Re:$30,000 by netsharc · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I can't imagine trying to sleep after you realize how much money they managed to con from you. :)

      --
      What time is it/will be over there? Check with my iPhone app!
    2. Re:$30,000 by afidel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A new kitchen can easily cost as much and you spend maybe a couple hours a day in there. You spend 4-9 hours a day in the bedroom. I personally think the money would be better spent on a good nights sleep then a pretty kitchen.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    3. Re:$30,000 by xanderwilson · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As a life-long insomiac, I can tell you that I'd pay about whatever I'd have to. That's if it actually worked. Alex.

  7. How I WISH american companies would follow by lawaetf1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Seriously, how many of you would end up increasing your productivity enormously if you were able to take a half hour nap at work every now and then? Sometimes you just need to quick-charge the batteries.

    Pity our corporate overlords would rather have zombies at their desks for a full 8 hours than surrender a few minutes for a nap.

    --
    CommentBot 0.7a running with args "-module irritate,disagree -target random"
    1. Re:How I WISH american companies would follow by binkzz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Did you read the article? This isn't about taking thirty minute naps, it's about a thirty minute preparation for falling asleep.

      --
      'For we walk by faith, not by sight.' II Corinthians 5:7
    2. Re:How I WISH american companies would follow by 120duff978 · · Score: 2

      I used to, but I was told I snore too loudly. Now I just get a Coke or coffee and go for a walk.

    3. Re:How I WISH american companies would follow by sahonen · · Score: 4, Funny

      My boss is cool with me sleeping on my lunch break.

      --
      Make me a friend and I'll mod you up
    4. Re:How I WISH american companies would follow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Too true! So many times I've been zonked at work (bad night's sleep, whatever) and even multiple trips to Starbucks isn't helping.

      Another advantage of working at home: naps when you need them :-)

    5. Re:How I WISH american companies would follow by BrookHarty · · Score: 2, Funny

      Pity our corporate overlords would rather have zombies at their desks for a full 8 hours than surrender a few minutes for a nap.

      8 hours? 12 Hours are the norm, 7 days a week. And 20 hour days are seeming to pop up more often. If I was union, I'd say call my Shop Steward after 8.

    6. Re:How I WISH american companies would follow by Fnkmaster · · Score: 1

      If you haven't noticed, when your body hits a certain point of exhaustion coffee doesn't really have the same reaction any more. In fact, I find that after a while, it just makes me more tired because the rebound from the caffeine (the crash) afterwards is so intense, it becomes physically impossible to fight it. After one of those insane weeks, I find I drink a cup of coffee, get about half an hour of solid work, then I'm ready to pass out. Which I guess is why I try not to do that any more.

    7. Re:How I WISH american companies would follow by KermitJunior · · Score: 1

      coffee doesn't really have the same reaction any more... Hmm. My coffee seems to react the same, but my body's reaction to the coffee... that continues to change.

      --
      There is a Universal Life Value Check it
    8. Re:How I WISH american companies would follow by mOdQuArK! · · Score: 1

      I always thought of coffee as an "accelerator" - it causes you to use whatever mental & physical energy reserves faster, thereby making you feel more alert.

      If you don't HAVE any mental energy reserves left, however, it will pretty much finish off any chance you had of thinking clearly, and leave you wired & strung out.

      Combine that with insulin bounces when drinking caffeinated soda, with the right choices of drinks, you can pretty much destroy your mind in a few days :-)

  8. MSDN does it for me.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    MSDN is enough for me tzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz

  9. like a child by Coneasfast · · Score: 4, Insightful

    i can't remember getting sleep like i could when i was a child, sometimes it takes me time to fall asleep, when i was kid, it was so easy and so restful.

    this device just speeds up the process to make you fall asleep, doesn't improve the sleeping too, which i think is what a lot of people need.

    --
    Marge, get me your address book, 4 beers, and my conversation hat.
    1. Re:like a child by mikael · · Score: 4, Insightful

      For me, getting a good nights sleep involves being in a room that is pitch dark, completely silent, with plenty of cool fresh air. If I'm not feeling too tired, I'll read a chapter of a novel for 30 minutes.

      My parents home is out in the countryside, and each window has iron shutters on the outside, which can be folded horizontally. For extremes of weather these can be unfolded and used to cover the windows, depending on weather conditions. For stormy weather, these stop the danger of stuff being blown into the windows, and in Summer, these reflect the heat of the Sun while allowing a breeze to blow through. In Winter, they help to keep the heat in the house. At night, they can be used to keep the persistant orange glow of the streetlights out. Every night gives me a solid night's sleep. The air is cool and fresh. I feel sharp in the morning, and can work for eight hours non-stop.

      Getting a good night's sleep in the city is much difficult. The apartment I rent has thin curtains, no shutters, and so the orange glow of streetlights is present in every single room throughout the night. Opening the windows to get a cool breeze introduces its own problems, since other residents tend to take taxi's home up until 4am, and the taxi cabs hang around for 10 minutes with the engine idling until the next call. Not forgetting the occasional ambulance/police car, the upstairs neighbour running their spindryer at 7am in the morning, the downstairs neighbour renovating their ceiling, somebody upstairs coming home from a pary in the early hours of the morning, and getting a good night's sleep is much harder.

      Given the high population density in Japan, I'm not surprised they have difficulty getting a good night's sleep.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    2. Re:like a child by dohnut · · Score: 1

      Bizarre.. I'm the exact opposite. I *hated* going to bed when I was a kid. I'd sit there with my transistor radio turned really low or read a book with a flashlight under the covers until I fell asleep (usually 1-2 hours later). I slept well, I suppose, but I couldn't fall asleep very easily.

      Now, as a 30 year old male, I can practically fall asleep on command. I'm a hypnotist's wet dream. The only things that can disturb me are repetive noises (like something beeping) and warm temperatures. The colder, the better.

      --
      Stupider like a fox! - H.S.
    3. Re:like a child by Alric · · Score: 1

      For less than $50, you should be able to solve most of your problems.

      Window treatments can be made from inexpensive, thick cotton fabric. If you have existing curtains, you should be able to hang another set fairly easily. You can at least afford a set for your bedroom. This simple fabric should cost no more than $3 per yard, and you should be able to find instructions for making simple curtains on Google. Needle and thread (or staples if you're really lazy) shouldn't cost more than $4. Let's pretend you need four yards, enough for two average apartment windows. That means you can tastefully block out all light in your bedroom for under $16 and about 1-2 hours of your life.

      Good, whisper-quiet fans can be purchased for under $20. I even found one with a remote and off-timer for $20. Of course, it was made in Asia, most likely under horrible work conditions, but I like to deny that my purchases have any connection to the suffering in other countries. So, I have a wonderful, quiet breeze whenever I desire.

      If the air quality is really a problem, buy a HEPA filter. You can get fairly inexpensive models that still work well.

      And lastly, if you aren't making enough money in a city to pay for these small life-enhancing trinkets, then you should consider moving elsewhere, because the truth is that urban environments are loud and polluted. If you want calm and quiet, you have chosen poorly.

      As I see it, there are three reasons to live in a big city. 1) You were born there and have a huge network of friends and family that you cannot leave. 2) You love the excitement and raw beauty of the urban sprawl. 3) You are making boatloads of money, of which you are saving a large portion.

    4. Re:like a child by xyz(void) · · Score: 3, Informative

      I used to have the same problem of city noise
      disturbing my sleep. As I live in Europe
      where people tend to have no aircon it also gets
      very hot in the summer so that you have to open
      whe windows in the night, what draws in only more
      noise.
      But after working in a third world city of 12m
      for some time I learned to sleep with earplugs,
      what solved all my problems. With them I can
      sleep almost anywhere under any conditions.

    5. Re:like a child by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 1
      I'm a hypnotist's wet dream.
      You've been wakin up with a sore ass?
      --
      It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
  10. Prior Art by Erick+the+Red · · Score: 5, Funny

    My University has one of those. They use it as a classroom for quantum physics.

    --

    DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE

    ok
  11. also National, Technics, Quasar, Victor, JVC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative


    what's in a name ?

    For the FY ended 3/31/04, net sales increased 1% to Y7.48T. Net income totaled Y42.15B vs. a loss of Y19.45B. Results reflect increased sales in domestic and overseas markets, improved gross profit margins, lower interest expenses, and Y72.22B income related to the employees pension funds.

  12. See the duplicate article next week... by fermion · · Score: 5, Funny
    YRO...

    Matsushita Patents the Bedroom!

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    1. Re:See the duplicate article next week... by Ignignot · · Score: 1

      Get real! The editors would have to be absolute _morons_ for that to happen!...

      --
      I submitted this story last night, and it didn't get posted.
  13. Cheaper ways by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 5, Funny

    A quart of whiskey and a bag of weed has proven effective in my experience and costs significantly less.

    1. Re:Cheaper ways by Abnormal+Coward · · Score: 1

      I find 3 or 4 cans of cider has the same effect, sleep solid for a good 8 hours where nothing will wake me up :P

    2. Re:Cheaper ways by Entropy+Unleashed · · Score: 1

      Exactly! I can't believe they're asking for $30,000 just for a chloroform dispenser.

      --

      "I would give my right hand to be ambidextrous."
    3. Re:Cheaper ways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I agree. Maybe some masturbation before bed will help alot too.

  14. Plus... by dotslashconfig · · Score: 0

    Who wouldn't take the opportunity to get paid for sleeping at work?

    If someone told me to go try out their "sleep room" for 30 minutes, I'd find it hard to refuse. In fact, I'd probably offer to do even more extensive beta testing than they required! But I suppose that type of environment where I work is just a dream (get it? dream). ::smirk::

  15. Soylent Green??? by mykingdomforahorse · · Score: 5, Funny

    Doesn't this sleep room remind you of the suicide room from Soylent Green? Japan is about to corner the market on high-protien food.

    1. Re:Soylent Green??? by momerath2003 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Do they at least give you the option of "quick" or "slow and painful"?

      --
      I had but a simple dream, to destroy all humans.
    2. Re:Soylent Green??? by Dachannien · · Score: 3, Funny

      You are now dead. Thank you for using Stop'n'Drop. America's favorite suicide booth since 2008.

    3. Re:Soylent Green??? by momerath2003 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Looks like you can't have an HTTP-REFERER to access it... you'll have to copy and paste the URL.

      http://www.gotfuturama.com/Multimedia/EpisodeSou nd s/1ACV01/12.mp3

      Leave out the slashcode-induced space, of course.

      --
      I had but a simple dream, to destroy all humans.
  16. the sleep room, or.... by Mad_Rain · · Score: 4, Funny

    The 30-minute session in the sleep room -- about the size of a small hotel room and programmed with a control panel in the wall -- starts with the bed upright like a recliner. A huge TV screen is positioned high above the dresser to meet perfectly with your line of vision, showing verdant scenes of a river ambling through a forest.
    Gentle guitar and piano music plays against a backdrop of trickling water and birdsong.

    So is it a sleep chamber, or New Age Music Torture Chamber?
    (for those of you who have a excellent memory for the Far Side cartoons - the link is to Charlie Parker's private hell)

    --
    "What do you think?" "I think 'What, do you think?!'"
    1. Re:the sleep room, or.... by rohan_leader · · Score: 3, Funny

      The 30-minute session in the sleep room -- about ...showing verdant scenes of a river ambling through a forest. Gentle guitar and piano music plays against a backdrop of trickling water and birdsong...

      Need I say more?

    2. Re:the sleep room, or.... by Mad_Rain · · Score: 4, Funny
      The 30-minute session in the sleep room -- about ...showing verdant scenes of a river ambling through a forest. Gentle guitar and piano music plays against a backdrop of trickling water and birdsong...

      Need I say more?


      Yes, yes you do. Right after I get back from the bathroom.
      --
      "What do you think?" "I think 'What, do you think?!'"
    3. Re:the sleep room, or.... by nizo · · Score: 1
      So is it a sleep chamber, or New Age Music Torture Chamber?

      You will get sleep but sadly your neighbors won't as you scream until you finally pass out.

      --
      I Am My Own Worst Enemy
    4. Re:the sleep room, or.... by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "(for those of you who have a excellent memory for the Far Side cartoons - the link is to Charlie Parker's private hell)"

      I figured they'd just scroll a bunch of Slashdot stories about SCO.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
  17. Sweet by su2ge · · Score: 1

    I need to get one of those so I can sleep better and end turn produce better code for my website that will eventually rule the world!!! MUAHAHAHAHA... oh wait... slashdot already claimed that position. I guess I can settle for second best. On a more serious note, I wonder if this will help some people with insomia finally fall asleep. In that case, the worlds geek population will greatly diminish as the fakes that are just slight tech people who don't get enough sleep will go back to doing whatever it was they were doing before :)

  18. hmmm mildly impressed. by Haydn+Fenton · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Recently, I've been looking into hypnotism, subliminal pursuation, inducing alpha state conciously and lucid dreams.

    Although this does seem pretty cool, I have a breif idea of how it works, and just like most things, once you know how it works, it doesn't impress you as much (well, if it's not that hard in the first place).
    To me, it looks like it's using hypnotism techniques to make you fall asleep (dimming the lights, making you relax, playing music (if you time the beats right you can change the brain waves into an alpha state)). Anyway, as we know, hypnotists can make people fall asleep in seconds, so making a computer which makes people fall asleep in 30 minutes, I have to admit, doesn't impress me that much. Considering the techniques are very similar


    The sleeping gadget which impress me is the NovaDreamer - a device which, when you train yourself, can induce lucid dreams - It detects when your eyes are in REM sleep, and then uses flashes and sounds at the right level to wake you into a lucid state.

    For those who don't know what lucid dreams are; they are dreams in which you know you are dreaming, and can therefore control your dream in any way you want - fly, breathe underwater, whatever. There are reports people can predict the future in lucid dreams too, which I really don't know if thats BS or not, we've all had deja vu's, and apparently they are previous dreams we've had. Lucid dreaming deviced would be more impressive to me, but hey.

    Anyway, there's my opinion.

    1. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by Fearless+Freep · · Score: 1

      For those who don't know what lucid dreams are; they are dreams in which you know you are dreaming

      reminds me of Lathe of Heaven

    2. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      There are reports people can predict the future in lucid dreams too, which I really don't know if thats BS or not

      Have a guess.

    3. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by adisakp · · Score: 2, Informative

      Anyway, as we know, hypnotists can make people fall asleep in seconds

      Usually, this requires conditioning first. A hypnotist can make you fall asleep in seconds if they have had MINUTES first to condition you to fall asleep or have previously given you a suggestion under hypnosis to return to a hypnotic state ("sleep") when given a trigger stimulus.

    4. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh wow, someone made spelling mistakes on SlashDot again- what a crime. Don't you have anything better to do than pick on somebody's typographical errors?

    5. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No I don't.

      I have insomnia you insensitive clod.

    6. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So do I, you callous prick!

    7. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by bar-agent · · Score: 1

      I lucid dream. It's nice.

      An example, right, I'm in a jungle on another planet and something like the Tommyknockers are after me, and base camp is too far away for me to make it. I say to myself, "hey, this is a dream, right, so...I need a BFG" and I reach out to mid-air and grab one, and feel a whole lot better about my situation.

      Like I said, it's nice.

      --
      i'd hit it so hard, if you pulled me out you'd be the king of britain [bash.org]
    8. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by Art+Tatum · · Score: 1
      For those who don't know what lucid dreams are; they are dreams in which you know you are dreaming, and can therefore control your dream in any way you want - fly, breathe underwater, whatever.

      You know what's always missing from lists of things you can do while lucid dreaming? Yes, that's right: sex. Why is it that nobody puts this in a list of things to dream about? Especially since it's the one thing you *know* everybody is thinking.

    9. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by iNetRunner · · Score: 1

      No need to necessarily invoke dreaming on deja vu's.. I thought that deja vu's where caused by the fact that the event you experienced went directly to both your temporary memory and long term memory. Then after the event is transferred from your short term (temporary) memory to long term memory (the normal method your brain works..), your brain finds the event already there, hence deja vu feeling. *I'm no brain surgeon or anything alike.. of course..*

      --
      Store with salt
    10. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by G-funk · · Score: 1

      Lucid dreaming is not difficult. Make a habit - several times a day, when nobody's looking, try and grab the remote / your coffee / whatever using the force. Keep doing this for a couple of weeks, and eventually it'll work - congratulations, you're dreaming! Another technique, is whenever you pick up something with only a couple of lines of text on it, read, look away, read it again. If it's changed, you're dreaming, and go throw some hadoukens around, or fly, or do all the nasty things you can't do in meatspace.**

      **Disclaimer: auther is not held responsible for rapes committed by telekenetics who think they're asleep ;-)

      --
      Send lawyers, guns, and money!
    11. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by HexDoll · · Score: 1

      Have you tried AutoZen? It's generates tones that can help you change brain state. I sometimes use it before I sleep to try and induce lucid dreams.

    12. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lucid dreaming really isn't all it's cracked up to be. In fact, I'm so sick of my natural ability to have lucid dreams that these days when I start into such a state my annoyed side goes "no no no, this isn't a dream, just ignore that inconsistency, go on now" which usually leads to a small argument "but no, that's not right", "no no, just ignore it" and then I pass into another dream cycle like my brain's going "fine, you don't like that, let's try this instead".

      Really, you just don't rest as well if you lucid dream or have vividly remembered dreams. As one who typically remembers at least one dream a night (and have had dreams come true, for what that's worth), let me say the nights when I don't remember dreams are the most restful I have. Really, I have to wonder if this is why a large percentage of my family tends to have to go on psychiatric drugs as they get older. Those that I talk to also have the vivid dreams. Years of poor sleep has got to do something to one's stability. I mean even I have trouble sometimes remembering if an event was real or a dream, because my dreams can be so vivid and realistic.

    13. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I used to lucid dream often. Sometimes I'd try to get sex, like I'd be flying towards a hot woman and a gust of wind would come and blow me away from her - I'm being absolutely serious. It sucked. But flying is so realistic it is probably as good or better than sex, a mixture of delight, exitement, thrill and fear(yes it can be scary flying through the air at 20 metres height doing 50km/h if it seems real).

    14. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by Haydn+Fenton · · Score: 1

      I would have included it on the list, however, if you try to lucid dream about sexual things, you get exicted and almost always wake up. Which is a waste of a lucid dream. :( Pretty damn unfortunate.

    15. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can almost always tell when I'm dreaming. It's when I can't that bothers me. One night I woke up needing to go to the bathroom. So I did. Then I woke up, still in bed.

    16. Re:hmmm mildly impressed. by Art+Tatum · · Score: 1

      Ahh, well that explains it. That's kind of bizarre though, actually. You can have "normal" dreams about sexual activity and not wake up.

  19. Obvious... by Albert+Sandberg · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is a v. .. very.... Zzzzzzz

  20. Brilliant! by electrichamster · · Score: 1

    I don't know about the rest of you geeks, but after a few nights of mad coding to meet a deadline switching your sleep pattern back to a semi-regular one is utter hell!
    If thing actually works and turns out to be a fair bit cheaper, I'll be first in the queue!!

    1. Re:Brilliant! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes it is! Coding is pure hell at times! This sounds great! I'll be second in the queue! Maybe we can sleep together!

  21. Reporting live... by elFarto+the+2nd · · Score: 1

    ...from inside the sleep room. As far as I can tell it doesn't workzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzz

  22. I can do this for free in 5 minutes... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    So can anyone else who has three kids. It's magical. 2-5 minutes in a recliner is all you need.

    1. Re:I can do this for free in 5 minutes... by Call+Me+Black+Cloud · · Score: 1

      A recliner? Let's see...besides the wooden rocking chair I've dozed off at my keyboard at home and my desk at work (in addition to many cushy spots around the house...couch, kids' beds, floor). Due to space constraints, though, my desk would be the spot where the receptionist would sit if we had a receptionist in my part of the building. Due to the high traffic I've somehow perfected the skill of dozing off and moving the mouse when someone walks by (I am not facing the hallway). I'm sure it is totally obvious what's going on but in my somnolent state I think I'm pretty clever.

    2. Re:I can do this for free in 5 minutes... by koreth · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A $30000 room is a lot cheaper than three kids.

  23. Computerized dream-inducers? by Anonymous+Writer · · Score: 1

    Anyone have an idea what these things mentioned in the article are? I know about the NovaDreamer from the Lucidity Institute, but I'm not aware of any other gadgets.

    1. Re:Computerized dream-inducers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Computerized dream-inducers?

      I believe it's called internet porn.

    2. Re:Computerized dream-inducers? by whitis · · Score: 1

      You may find the Mind machine FAQ helpful. There are a lot of machines out there, some of which which cost considerably less than the novadreamer ($500 with bundled materials) and while they may not be as compact many of them are probably a lot more adjustable. I have not had the opportunity to try a mind machine as a sleep inducer but I did try one at a spa and can confirm that they do mess with your head and stimulate interesting mental imagery. Brain Wave Software is also availble for windoze (emulator compatible) with a 30 day trial. Note that flashing a computer screen is not as good as LED glasses which can flash over a wider range of frequencies without beating with the screen refresh frequency or being effected by phosphor decay and also the LED glasses work with your eyes closed.

  24. Falling asleep is easy... by lortho · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... what I really need is a 'wake up' room:

    In bright, pulsating light, the loud scream of a heavy metal guitar solo electrifies your lazy nerves. Your back is pounded with electric shocks, zapping muscles atrophied from the long lazy slumber, as an IV of raw Mountain Dew syrup is injected straight into your veins. Before you know it, you're at work, and actually on time for once...

    1. Re:Falling asleep is easy... by sploxx · · Score: 1

      ACK!

      This is such a big problem for me that I still have plans to put around 20 alarm-clocks all over my room and wire them with a central 'set-alarm' wire.
      I want to put all these into the locations where it is most difficult to switch them off, i.e. hang them from the ceiling, in the shelves etc. and, yes, I want to remove/disable the snooze buttons. So it would be really hard to be lazy in the morning. Switchting them off would be done by starting the computer and entering some weird, 30 character-long program name.
      It would of course not be impossible to switch them off earlier (destroying them, fetching a screwdriver etc.), but I hope my lazyness would not make me do such things! :)

    2. Re:Falling asleep is easy... by dmitrygr · · Score: 1

      just put a mousetrap on top of your alarm clock.

      --
      -------
      1. Enjoy your job
      2. Make lots of money
      3. Work within the law

      Choose any two.
    3. Re:Falling asleep is easy... by biker44442004 · · Score: 1

      all you need are some bawls!

      --
      Dain Bramaged
    4. Re:Falling asleep is easy... by Ilgaz · · Score: 1

      ...and be sure you don't own a hamster ;)

  25. "Happy Ending" by Gregoyle · · Score: 1

    At first I thought this might be a simple mechanical version of the classic Asian massage parlor, but I was quickly disbused by this quote:

    Eventually, the lights turn off completely, the massage peters out...

    Now I know it is just another version of the "happy ending"!! Admittedly, it is a tried and true method of putting people to sleep. But what will they do about females??

    --

    "He's more machine now than man, twisted and evil."

    1. Re:"Happy Ending" by MammaMia · · Score: 1

      We'll be deprived of our giving-back-rubs-that-put-your-lazy-ass-to-sleep privilege. Darn.

      --
      "We are the first generation to influence the climate and the last generation to escape the consequences." - John McCain
    2. Re:"Happy Ending" by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 1

      I think he was refering to a front rub, not a back rub.

      --
      It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
  26. Hm... by CosmeticLobotamy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dream inducers? Great. Like I don't already have enough pairs of Lightspeed Briefs.

    "Dump him, Marge. He's a loser. I travelled the world / and the seven seas. / I am watching / you through a camera."

  27. Not sure if this is the answer... by bloxnet · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's very nice that efforts are being made to improve the environment to get people to fall asleep...but it seems that this may be the wrong approach to the real issue. A growing amount of sleep disorders suggests problems with higher stress levels, diet, or having a routine sleep pattern. These issues seem to be all common in the U.S. as well as other industrialized nations. In my own humble opinion, I think it's because as a collective group, we put too much time and focus on things that aren't important and in turn have forgotten what's really important, substituting friends, family, and improving oneself mentally/spiritually for material things or work. It would stand to reason that if this substitution leads to these types of problems, it is a poor substitute indeed. I know I sound like a hippy or self help moron, but I have to say, ever since I read this quote somewhere: "One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important." ...and thought on it, and took it to heart, I have just seen/approached things a lot differently. Haven't been fired yet, and hell even if I do, is it the end of the world? I forgot where I was going with this, oh well. The next stage I would love to approach would be this qoute: "I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours." Oh well, enough posting, I should go take a nap.

    1. Re:Not sure if this is the answer... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      ...I think it's because as a collective group, we put too much time and focus on things that aren't important and in turn have forgotten what's really important, substituting friends, family, and improving oneself mentally/spiritually for material things or work.

      How amusing. What you MEANT to say was, "substituting material things or work for..." etc. See, when you substitute A for B, B is replaced, not A. You were trying to say that material items aren't important, and ended up doing the reverse.

      Some people say it's the thought that counts. Well, when you say the exact opposite of what you intended, it confuses the hell out of people. :)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Not sure if this is the answer... by bloxnet · · Score: 1

      You are right...I will make a point to develop important things like communication skills as part of my mental/spiritual growth so that I can clearly express what I mean to people without confusing them. Usually I pick at spelling, but your correction somewhat emphasizes my point. With a lot of technical people who just go nuts on focusing on work or in some cases specifics like interacting with machines (programming, administrating, etc, etc) important communication skills gets abandoned. To the rest of the world, someone who cannot spell or use their own native language correctly is often seen as not worthy of taking seriously, or will not be regarded as an intelligent contributor to whatever matter is at hand.

      In any case, thanks for the correction, it is always good to learn something or correct a flaw whenever possible.

    3. Re:Not sure if this is the answer... by teddiesmooth · · Score: 1

      I know this sounds impossible, but for most of us guys... you know when you're "pretending" to listen to someone you're not really thinking about anything. Or when your girlfriend is ranting about someone at work "yadda yadda yadda", what do you do? Most likely you stop thinking at all.

      Just "turn off" your brain and you will likely fall asleep faster. It got me through four years of college without learning much and lets me get my required 6 hours of sleep. Oh, and it also helps if you just go exercise for about an hour before and/or after work. If you are working more than 10 hours a day, all the power to you.

    4. Re:Not sure if this is the answer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I read this quote somewhere: "One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important." ...and thought on it, and took it to heart, I have just seen/approached things a lot differently.

      Wish I did the same. Of course I had this symptom plus my programming as my primary hobby got me into trouble. I couldn't wake up one morning due to severe vertigo. Did all the medical checkups, everything negative.
      The "Nervous breakdown" term is not used anymore by doctors, instead they diagnosed me with depression and anxiety/panic disorder. Had to stop for 6 months.
      To stay on topic, I'd like to add that I work in Japan. Since this happened, I have a hard time falling asleep even with strong medication. I'll quit and move back to Europe. Spending time with friends and family is more important. I definately agree with you.

  28. Wrong name by kunudo · · Score: 2, Informative

    it's Matsushita, not Matusushita.

    1. Re:Wrong name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I prefer Bukkakeshita...

    2. Re:Wrong name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i guess you didn't see the panasonic logo on their site ? rtfa next time

    3. Re:Wrong name by Ilgaz · · Score: 2, Interesting

      They use those brand names (technics, panasonic) since their can't be practically spelled, happy japanese spell checking genius! :)

      ps: Check my sig ;)

  29. The sleep room, or.... SOYLENT GREEN! by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 2, Funny
    Remember the scene in "Soylent Green" where Sol Roth is laying on the cart viewing some film, getting ready to be made into crackers?

    (as a side note, Dick Van Patten played the attendant, I always knew there was something creapy about him...)

    --
    "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
  30. Sleeping on the job by colonslashslash · · Score: 1
    Funnily enough when I was working as an assistant manager for a cafe / bar a couple of years back, I actually got paid to sleep on the job.

    The manager got called away as she had to pick her sick child up from school, and she told me that I had to keep things running as she wouldn't be back for a couple of hours. Being the responsible model employee that I am, (albeit I was pretty tired from a heavy stag do the night before) I went to go "chill out" round the back. Went into the bathroom and sat down, closed my eyes, and before I knew it I had fallen asleep. Was bloody great when I think about it, got paid to sleep for over 2 hours...

    The problem was that when I woke up, the regional manager (bastard actually had a key for the bathroom! Can you believe that?) was stood there with another employee and informed me I no longer had a job. My track record in this employment didn't do me any great favours.

    Joke is on them anyhow, I left a somewhat large floating present for them in the toilet.

    --
    She's built like a steak house, but she handles like a bistro....
    1. Re:Sleeping on the job by beebware · · Score: 1

      I know a family member occasionally gets paid to sleep on the job. Basically, where she works they need to have a suitable Qualified Member Of Staff "on site" all the time - but it doesn't matter if they are awake or asleep: just as long as they are there in case "something happens". If there is enough "junior staff" there to keep things just ticking over, she can catch a few hours sleep (which, if you've already done a 12/14 hour shift and got another one in 12 hours time - you'll need it!)

    2. Re:Sleeping on the job by BlueCup · · Score: 1

      I worked as a projectionist for a while. 99.5% of the time nothing would ever happen, you were just responsible for starting the movies, and if a problem occured, fixing it. During the last round you would at times, sit there doing nothing for three hours. So, I'd just lay down with a film cover over me, a roll of paper towels for a pillow, a 2 way radio so that someone could get ahold of me if something went wrong, and an alarm.

      I loved that shift.

      --
      WANNAWIKI Wannawiki WannaWiki WANNAWIKI!
  31. Prototype name by lawpoop · · Score: 3, Funny

    They're calling it "the cubicle".

    --
    Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
    -- Pablo Picasso
  32. Movie theatre? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    So they made a movie theatre that loops Titanic and Gigli?

    1. Re:Movie theatre? by conan+the+librarian · · Score: 1

      Must stay awake to see nude scene zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

  33. Re:I just don't get it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Man, do you need to get some sleep.

  34. Been done.... by Himring · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Matsushita Electric Works has developed a room that helps people sleep...."

    That's been done already. It was at my insurance company's place in the salesman's office when I asked him the difference between term and whole life....

    --
    "All great things are simple & expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." --Churchill
  35. We have Dennis Miller by coast99 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Matsushita needs a machine. We have Dennis Miller.

  36. I hope that wet beds don't increase... by foidulus · · Score: 4, Funny

    A huge TV screen is positioned high above the dresser to meet perfectly with your line of vision, showing verdant scenes of a river ambling through a forest.
    Won't that make people feel the urge to pee?

    1. Re:I hope that wet beds don't increase... by Chapium · · Score: 1

      Thats why its the 30 minute room :D

  37. Alternative method by S.I.O. · · Score: 0, Redundant

    If you can't afford $30,000, try out this:

    http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/speeches.asp

  38. It is neither. by twitter · · Score: 1

    So is it a sleep chamber, or New Age Music Torture Chamber?

    That depends on how you program it. It's got a big screen, speakers and a matres that vibrates and moves. It's a Quake booth.

    --

    Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

  39. In related news, GM licenses the technology. by Moderation+abuser · · Score: 1

    "We have determined that our customers often need extensive relaxation therapy during long and arduous commutes" said GM CEO Richard Wagoner Jr who dismissed claims that SUV owners were more in need of a wakeup call than a sedative environment.

    --
    Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
  40. Apnea by mfh · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I have sleep apnea, and I wonder if they have accomodated for anyone with this disorder? I think a pressurized room might do the trick, but I'm not sure.

    --
    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
  41. napping very good for you - and famous people by Dr.Knackerator · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Churchill, JFK, Napoleon, Thatcher, Leonardo, Brahms, Edison all (have) partaken in the power nap.

    1. Re:napping very good for you - and famous people by strike2867 · · Score: 1, Funny

      Hopefully not in the same bed.

      --

      Vote for new mod!!! Score:-2,Imbecile
  42. 30 minute test/questionnaire beforehand? ZZZZzzzz by Freewill · · Score: 1
    At the "Vitality Diagnostic Corner," a "sleep counselor" leads visitors through a 30-minute, Matsushita-developed software program designed to pinpoint sleep problems and put out a "sleep profile." With that out of the way, customers are free to pass into a separate bedroom and get down to business with the sleep machine.

    Wouldn't you be ready to sleep after taking 30 minutes to create a 'sleep profile'?

    I guess you only take the test once, but it's not explicitly stated in the article, so there ya go.

    - M

    --
    n/a
  43. Sleep Room? Phaw... by 17028 · · Score: 1

    I need a stay awake room.

  44. Ob by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Russia, the room puts you to sl... damn
    Let's just put Darl in one of these, along with some ether

  45. It's just a different kind of sleep by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Matsushita produced vacuum tubes and radios that were used by Japanese Forces during World War II while they were killing and torturing Americans, Chinese, and other people.

  46. I already have one of these. by Rogue+Leader · · Score: 1

    It's an import from Japan, also. I taped one of the episodes of DragonBall Z where they didn't fight. Puts me out after five minutes.

    --

    worst sig ever. . .

    1. Re:I already have one of these. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I taped one of the episodes of DragonBall Z where they didn't fight.

      Isn't that like every episode? They just sit there gritting their teeth (time filler).

  47. Obligatory Simpson's Reference by StefanJ · · Score: 1

    Homer, shown sensory deprivation tank in back of New Age store:

    "Can I pee in it?"

  48. Scientists said... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Scientists investigating this room's properties during an independant study found a strange link between their own subjects and those of the manufacturer's. Said one, "many of our people were in the early stages of sleep, however they just kept leaping from the pillow with the words, "$30,000!"? in a frightened voice."

  49. Robotic arms by ChronoWiz · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hmmm so a sleeping invention from Japan... I'm thinkin' robotic arms holding rags covered in chloroform.

  50. make your own sleep room by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.relaxingsoftware.com/

    atmosphere nature sound gen kicks butt... dunno what id do without it.

  51. new age aint that bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    once you get past the stigma & give it a real chance youll find youve been missing out on a whole genre of incredibly talented musicians

    i recomend you start with some Dead Can Dance, maybe Steve Roach, or tune in to the Hearts of Space radio show on NPR

  52. More /. ways to get some money! by IamScared · · Score: 0, Funny

    1. Bring some SCO executives inside a Beowulf cluster of these freaky sleeping rooms; 2. Open a new whorehouse in town; 3. ??? 4. Profit!!!

    --
    FreeBSD: Because Computers Can Be Fun... Again.
  53. Tinnitus by obi-1-kenobi · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yes but will it create background noise as well so I can't hear my tinnitus (note i'm only 20).

    --
    "You win again Gravity!" -Futurama (Zapp)
  54. extract from a report.. by kiwioddBall · · Score: 1

    .. participants reported a very bare room with only a TV screen showing a movie entitled 'Gigli'. Within 15 minutes most of those that entered...

  55. This is coming by foidulus · · Score: 2, Informative

    From a company who figured out how to eliminate toilet paper
    I have seen some of these in Japan, but was always too afraid to use them. However, a lot of people seemed to judging by the sounds coming from the toilet.

    1. Re:This is coming by duffel · · Score: 2, Funny

      While I think that they probably have a point, that site is hilarious!

      Check out the demo movie in the feminine hygiene section! ;-)

      Great quote from the FAQ:
      "Q: When I have house guests, they might feel uncomfortable or intimidated by this piece of equipment in my bathroom. What should I do?
      A: Well, as long as they know they can just use your toilet like any toilet, everything should be fine. If they start asking, just tell them what it is. Suggest trying it. They will leave your house never forgetting your unique bathroom."

       Yes. They'll always remember you as the people with the F'ing Weird Toilet.

  56. Polyphasic Sleep by totoanihilation · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Actually, if you take enough 30 minute naps during a day (usually 30 minutes every 4 hours) you can get away with as little as 3 hours of sleep PER DAY. It's known as polyphasic sleeping, and it tricks the mind into falling into REM sleep very quickly rather than waiting several hours (as when you only sleep in one 8-hour chunk). You even end up getting MORE REM sleep this way.

    Lots of mammals do it naturally, including us as babies, but we are raised by our parents to stay awake all day and sleep at night.

    I tried this a few semesters ago to get through a rough finals week. Works great, you even feel more awake than usual. But you have to have a lot of stuff to do, otherwise you bore yourself to sleep ;)

    Anyways, I wish Universities and workplaces would have sleep-rooms and schedules separated in 3.5 hour chunks!!

    Link: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/4/15/103358/720

    1. Re:Polyphasic Sleep by Art+Tatum · · Score: 4, Informative

      We read about this in Psychology class. The textbook said that the schedule doesn't work long-term: even though you get more REM sleep, you don't get all of the physical rest that you normally get. It supposedly breaks down after about 2 months. According to my textbook. But they may be wrong. They're psychologists, after all. :-)

    2. Re:Polyphasic Sleep by Scarblac · · Score: 1

      We read about this in Psychology class. The textbook said that the schedule doesn't work long-term: even though you get more REM sleep, you don't get all of the physical rest that you normally get. It supposedly breaks down after about 2 months. According to my textbook. But they may be wrong. They're psychologists, after all. :-)

      What happens after the two months? Could you sleep really heavily for a few days, go back to normal for a few more days, and then go back to the 3-hour-sleep schedule for two more months?
      --
      I believe posters are recognized by their sig. So I made one.
    3. Re:Polyphasic Sleep by totoanihilation · · Score: 2, Interesting

      To learn more you could always go to your local library and get the book "Why We Nap: Evolution, Chronobiology, and Functions of Polyphasic and Ultrashort Sleep" by Claudio Stampi.
      It's an interesting little book, with plenty of examples and experimental results.

      As for the long term risks, I guess one has to use his noggin. You won't be physically more energetic, so don't start this to train 20 hours a day for a marathon. Your body still needs its rest. Since most geeks stick to their computers, that shouldn't be a problem :)
      Apparently Leonardo Da Vinci used this for most of his lifetime. So it can't be _that_ bad long-term

      Alternatively, if you don't want to go completely polyphasic, you can sleep a 4-hour chunk at night, and then 30 minutes every 4 hours after that.

      HTH!

    4. Re:Polyphasic Sleep by Phishcast · · Score: 1

      Didn't Kramer from Seinfeld try this? If memory servers me, he ended up in the Hudson in a sack.

    5. Re:Polyphasic Sleep by Art+Tatum · · Score: 1
      What happens after the two months? Could you sleep really heavily for a few days, go back to normal for a few more days, and then go back to the 3-hour-sleep schedule for two more months?

      I'm not really sure. They said that the guy they tested it on became extremely irritable and started falling asleep involuntarily. So they just ended the experiment right there.

      The other guy that responded to you seemed to have more complete information though, so I'd go with what he says.

  57. How To Sleep by nate+nice · · Score: 2, Informative

    Have a fan going in your room or outside/in a closet. I have known many people that use this technique and everyone agrees this helps them fall asleep quickly. This will cost you about $20.00. Calm, white noise is the key to good rest.

    --
    "If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer ..."
    1. Re:How To Sleep by HoneyBunchesOfGoats · · Score: 1

      Or leave your computer on at night and save money on the fan.

    2. Re:How To Sleep by Jardine · · Score: 1

      Have a fan going in your room or outside/in a closet. I have known many people that use this technique and everyone agrees this helps them fall asleep quickly. This will cost you about $20.00. Calm, white noise is the key to good rest.

      I find that a fan doesn't produce enough white noise nor does it cool down my room on those hot and humid summer nights. That's why I have a 5000 BTU air conditioner in a window two feet from my head. Lots of cool air, tons of white noise, and a bonus loud THUMP when the compressor turns off to let me know that it wants to fall out of my window.

    3. Re:How To Sleep by nate+nice · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that works too. Once I got rid of a desktop in my room, I found it impossible to sleep because of the silence so I brought in a fan and everything was OK. With a computer, the quiet sounds of the harddrive defragging itself in the background is relaxing as well I have found so I would agree a computer may be better than a fan for the whole white noise thing.

      --
      "If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer ..."
  58. Curious by Anonymous+Writer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Have you heard of light and sound machines? They use flashing LEDs and pulsing sounds or binaural beats to induce certain brainwave frequencies through something called the frequency following effect. I can even recall seeing one of these machines on the net that actually used a mild electrical charge pulsing at these frequencies as well.

    Another thing you ought to know about lucid dreaming is that text in dreams does not stay constant. While you're dreaming, if you read anything then read it again a second time, it will change. The sleeping mind doesn't have the external stimuli to keep the dream imagery constant.

    Psychologists didn't believe that it was possible that people could be conscious while dreaming. However some sleep researchers found out that wherever your eyes are looking at in a dream is where your eyes are facing in REM. They found one subject with a constant pattern in his REM activity- his eyes kept moving from side to side- while he dreamt of watching a Ping-Pong game. Sleep researchers used this to prove lucid dreaming exists. They got subjects to perform a pattern of eye movements when they achieved lucidity while dreaming, which they recorded with polygraphs so they had actual evidence.

    I'm curious to know if anyone out there has any experience with enhancing the ability to have lucid dreams. I actually have a NovaDreamer, but the thing just wakes me up. And I'd like to know what these "computerized dream-inducers" mentioned in the article are. Could it be this? I heard that taking the nutritional supplement 5HTP enhances dreaming, but I've never tried it. I've tried Melatonin, but that doesn't seem to affect me.

    1. Re:Curious by bunratty · · Score: 1
      Have you heard of light and sound machines?
      Yep, I have one. When I have trouble sleeping, I just use one of the sleep programs, and I'm asleep in 20-30 minutes. A few times I haven't stayed completely asleep after the program ended, but at least I felt quite drowsy and not wired like I did before the program started.
      --
      What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
    2. Re:Curious by hawkstone · · Score: 1

      Not necessarily what you were looking for, but a number of years ago I was taking Zoloft (anti-depressant -- SSRI like Prozac and Paxil, though all three have different properties). Normally I don't really remember a dream but once a week, maybe. Starting on about the third night I was taking it, I started remembering several dreams a night, often as many as five, and I remembered a lot of detail.

      After several weeks of this, I realized something: "nightmares" are not some special category of dreams. In fact, most if not all dreams, even so called "good" ones, are just plain weird. Really weird, to the point of disturbing. You decide quickly that these people who want to remember more of their dreams might change their minds if they knew. And those who are successful in remembering more of their dreams and still enjoy it are not likely remembering as much detail as they could. To really remember that kind of disturbing detail took a psychoactive drug.

      Anyway, I wasn't into lucid dreaming at the time and I went back off the SSRI after only a couple months, so I don't know if this helps lucid dreaming. But I thought you might enjoy the story even it was slightly tangential.

    3. Re:Curious by SanGrail · · Score: 1

      I've opened my eyes while lucid dreaming.
      I mean, physically opened my eyes and viewed my surroundings, while still dreaming.

      In my dream I was standing on the street in a city looking around me, and I could hear birds tweeting, smell coffee from a coffee stall, and feel the weight of a big square candle in my arms - and realised that if I didn't already know I was dreaming, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It seemed so real that in my dream state I wondered if maybe I could take something 'back' with me if I tried hard enough.

      So I opened my eyes.
      I was lying in bed and could see sunlight streaming in the room around me - and I could still feel the candle in my arms!
      And then felt a bit weird because it *also* still felt like I was standing upright, and I could hear & feel a 'city' around me, despite the fact I was viewing my room from a prone position.
      So I closed my eyes, and it was like I'd opened my eyes in the 'city' again.

      I woke up soon afterward, but it was a very interesting experience.

      --
      ---- I've fallen, and I can't get up.
    4. Re:Curious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's funny, I never know about "lucid dreaming" nor know the word for it, but I used to experience this when I was younger.

      Once I knew I was dreaming I could do stuff, like close my eyes in the dream, and then open them up. The wierd thing was that the closing did nothing, but the opening really opened my eyes - the first time I did this I was frightened to death - the real, dark, grey ceiling was still overlayed by my dream images and I was lying flat on my back, widely away and still seeing the dream..

      Unfortunately, I couldn't do much, because once I knew I was dreaming I was bound to wake up soon. Concentrating on things, like driving a car, having sex, running around or reading would inevitably push me to the wake side. I could only stay in the dream if I tried to think of nothing - you can bet this didn't work long.

      Thanx for the interesting link, I'll check it out.

    5. Re:Curious by SanGrail · · Score: 1

      I remember most of my dreams, to the extent that I don't bother remembering 90% of them, because they weren't interesting enough. Still - I view it almost as another form of entertainment.

      Most people don't remember their dreams at all, or only remember snatches, and think they're from different dreams, whereas they were probably from one ongoing changing one - at least that's the case for me, since I do remember the long dream sometimes.

      And yes, dreams are generally incredibly weird, but I'd tend to say surreal, rather than disturbing - part of it could have been your medications as well. The only thing that makes something a nightmare for me, is not being able to *control* my situation in the dream.

      I'm *usually* vaguely aware that I'm dreaming, so I can change things if I really need to, but I often find it too much effort - instead of just letting events unfold, it's like I have to choreograph everything around me, so I don't usually bother.

      In one of my more interesting dreams, I started off as a blue iBook laptop. I was in the ocean and I'd float down to the bottom of the ocean where there'd been a shipwreck and would scoop myself under coins, cups and knicknacks, then float up to the surface where a hand would reach down and take things off my case. Later in that dream I was a human, a hobbit, and nearly got eaten by some (dream) cannibal parents of a friend.

      I often have very Indiana Jones type dreams - running from destruction, or stopping it, or getting treasure or something.
      E.g. jumping from stone to stone over a pool of red-hot lava while a bunch of rough space crew guys do the Can-Can to distract a giant space monster.

      *shrug*

      While it's usually weirder than even the most 'special' B-movies, it more fun than TV because you can actually interact. :)

      --
      ---- I've fallen, and I can't get up.
    6. Re:Curious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...because once I knew I was dreaming I was bound to wake up soon. Concentrating on things, like driving a car, having sex, running around...

      Having sex == dreaming on Slashdot

    7. Re:Curious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try a herb called Calea Zacatechichi Tastes awful but can increase the chance of having lucid dreams

    8. Re:Curious by Max+Romantschuk · · Score: 1

      I'm curious to know if anyone out there has any experience with enhancing the ability to have lucid dreams.

      I have the ability to have lucid dreams, but I've only had them in the morning. Basically all I do is decide to stay in bed and dream even though I'm actually waking up and could just as well get up.

      I've found that in a sufficiently calm environment (alone in bed) I can induce lucid dreams if I relax and refrain from thinking to intensly. Moving is also a bad thing, as it makes you aware of your physical surroundings. I just let myself wake up really slowly while my mind keeps on dreaming.

      A sidenote: I was able to do this while in school, nowadays with a wife & kids waking me up in the mornings I'm not able to enter a lucid dreamstate.

      --
      .: Max Romantschuk :: http://max.romantschuk.fi/
    9. Re:Curious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Meditation is a powerful way to improve lucid dreaming ability. As your mind gets more concentrated and aware, this ability extends to your sleep awareness as well.

      Meditation is hard in the beginning, showing how undisciplined your mind is (it's no wonder we don't have lucidity during dreams, we barely have it during the day) -- as you get better it gets easier and much more enjoyable -- you actually 'zone out' and start really enjoying yourself.

      I noticed that I was having many more flying dreams (precursors to lucid dreams) and had a couple of lucid dreams without trying to -- I just naturally recognized that I was dreaming. It seemed like my mind had gotten strong enough to recognize that I was dreaming.

  59. feature request for sleep machine ... by pikine · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What they should design is not a room, but a self-contained machine "bed" that helps people sleep. The "bed" would have a sound-proof, single-body glass dome cover with electronic blinds--a coating on the glass that dims when an electric charge is applied. The bed would be equipped with filtered air-conditioner, and it automatically adjusts to the right humidity level. Then they may have a widescreen TV, stereo speakers, and massage machine inside the bed for whatever reason.

    It's much easier to buy a "package" that has everything you need, rather than having to buy a "room." At least, this this kind of sleeping machine "bed" would find a very good application on airline flights. If you ever had a 18 hour flight, then I'm sure you'll appreciate this very much.

    --
    I once had a signature.
  60. There should be a version for men that gives you.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A blowjob and a beer, too. Out like a light.

  61. Can I get an Amen! by Venner · · Score: 1

    Amen. I spent the last year in a city while I was working on my master's degree and I hated it. It simply amazes me that people want to live in cities.

    Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the culture. Museums, music, theatre, good restaurants, etc. I just could not possibly conceive of dealing with the trade-offs long term. Traffic. Noise. Light pollution. Higher cost of living. PEOPLE. Ugh.

    The first thing I did when I moved into my apartment was to put up a double-thick curtain across the window in my bedroom. To hell with my rental agreement. It blocked 99% of the damn light from coming in. For airflow and to help drown out external sound, I kept a stand fan going all of the time. It's actually pretty hypnotic sometimes, which helps.

    It really hit me how much I disliked it when I looked up at the sky one night and could only make out a handful of stars...

    Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
    Don't fence me in
    Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
    Don't fence me in
    Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze
    And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
    Send me off forever but I ask you please
    Don't fence me in

    --
    A preposition is a terrible thing to end a sentence with.
  62. US$ 30k for it? by gmuslera · · Score: 1
    If I have to spend US$30000 to sleep surely will have nightmares.

    In the other hand, if my work spends US$30k to make me work for i.e. 50 hours straigth as a policy with short periods of 30 minutes sleep, i should quit. Working for much hours must be for some very unusual, end of the world-kind emergencies and not for er.. "usual" things.

  63. Bad design by AchilleTalon · · Score: 1
    ... seems someone has sleep on his design, no anti-snoring device included for the price. At least, I hope sound insulation is outstanding.

    --
    Achille Talon
    Hop!
  64. So why does this cost $30K? by Animats · · Score: 1
    OK, they've got a large-screen TV showing screen-saver like content, some audio, a powered curtain rod, a motorized bed, and lighting controls. Sounds like something you'd build out of a low-end Linux PC and some X10 controllers.

    The thing it seems to lack is any feedback. If they had a system that could read your heart rate or EEG, or at least tell if your eyes are open, that would be more impressive. What they've got now sounds like the Bedroom of The Future, circa 1964.

  65. Fan will steal your breath, by glrotate · · Score: 1

    Ask any Korean. They know ALL about this.

  66. Re:fantastic by fullofangst · · Score: 1

    How was this off-topic! The guy wants to pre-order a 'sleeping room' so he can sleep! Clearly the chap doesn't sleep well.. I know I don't.. and I'd love to have one of these room-things to help me get a good nights sleep to face /users the next day!

  67. Sleep Inducing Software by fear025 · · Score: 1

    On my old Amiga, I used to have a white-noise generating program that was supposed to put you in an "alpha state" or set you to sleep.

    It never really did much for me, but I was wondering if there was any similar software out there for the pc (and of course if it does any good).

    1. Re:Sleep Inducing Software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Try AutoZen.

      Does fuck all for me, but YMMV.

  68. Get a dog. by JonMartin · · Score: 1

    I had a dog that had remarkable sleep inducing powers. She didn't like to sleep without a warm human to curl up against so she would make people sleepy when she wanted to sleep. It was really impressive: she could walk into a room and within minutes everyone would say how sleepy they were. She usually targetted me so I actually built up a bit of a resistance over the years. But if I had to pull an all-nighter I would still lock here out of the room.

    --
    Serve Gonk.
  69. A picture of the room by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://politiken.dk/VisArtikel.sasp?PageID=323076& Nr=3 From a danish newspaper

  70. They had one of these at university... by adrianbaugh · · Score: 2, Funny

    They called it a "lecture theatre".

    --
    "'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.'"
    - JRR Tolkien.
  71. (pics) last semester design class projects (pics) by parasyght · · Score: 0

    http://profile.myspace.com/users/4291143

  72. Y0UNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 1

    But, SAMSUNG MEANS TO COME

    --
    It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
  73. Yeah, just Star Wars Episode II by Lispy · · Score: 3, Funny

    in a cinema near you.

  74. I know of 3 things which FORCE me to sleep by AbRASiON · · Score: 1

    #1 was "Indy Car Racing" (10+ years ago on the PC, the sequel to Indy 500) - the tone of the engine and the monotonous boring races LITERALLY would make me yawn within 5 minutes and sleepy in 15 - I kid you not absoloutely guarunteed - like the game new my magic "off button"

    #2 MS books (MCP / MCSE) - I tried getting into this once - and unless you're WORKING with the stuff or testing it on a home lab- just reading it to learn with no PC around = sleep - seriously - ZZZzzzZZ - 20 minutes again

    #3 arguments and conflict with girlfriends.
    (I've read up on this, I may have some kind of "mental disorder" or INTP mentality type or something - but I seriously (again) found it actually PHYSICALLY PAINFUL to stay awake during a "relationship discussion" with my 3 previous girlfriends - seriously it's like my brain didn't want to face facts or address a problem so it simply shut down - it was actual pain to be awake.......

    I've also been visited by the devil in my sleep (no joke) - I have some interesting dreams
    (note: I don't beleive in the devil, but I doubt I'll ever be as terrified again)

  75. KKK? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Racist bastard.

  76. Binaural Beats software for Linux by SST-206 · · Score: 1

    Anyone interested in Binaural Beats should check out SBaGen, the Binaural Beat Brain Wave Experimenter's Lab, available for Linux, Mac and Windows.

    All this talk of dreaming reminds me of a very cool film called Waking Life which all Slashdotters should see. It's a fantastic philosophical journey into the world of dreams and consciousness. The main character wanders around meeting professors and strangers who discuss the nature of being asleep and lucid dreaming. The action is all filmed and then re-animated in an amazing technique called Rotoscoping.

    --
    Co-operation beats competition
  77. My lucid dreaming technique by cookie_cutter · · Score: 1
    I used the following technique to assist in lucid dreaming. It's actually very simple:

    1.) periodically throughout the day, ask yourself "am I dreaming?" Do this regularly and consistently, and don't just say it, try to reason whether you are dreaming or not (ie, are things normal, or are normally impossible or unlikely things happening). Certain common tests which can be used to distinguish dreaming from waking states are whether text stays constant or whether a clock keeps proper time.

    If you get into the habit of doing this, eventually you'll actually ask yourself this while in a dream, or at least be more likely to notice when you are in a dream environment.

    2.)Start logging your dreams. Generally, you want to do this as soon as you wake up, because the dream memories start to fade very quickly, so you have to put it to paper or computer file ASAP. For whatever reason, this helps your logical conscious mind gain a foothold in the dream reality, so that it will become easier to be conscious in the dream state. You'll also find that you'll start remembering your dreams better.

    3.)Consciously decide to dream. When you're falling asleep, affirm to yourself "tonight, I am going to dream, and I am going to be aware that I am dreaming, and I am going to remember what the dream was." When your dealing with the mind, intention and belief matter a great deal.

    These techniques have worked well for me in the past. You may find that the first few times you realize your dreaming, you get so excited that you wake yourself up; don't be discouraged, just keep trying and try to stay calm, you should (hopefully) get to a point where you can do it without overreacting.

    Good Luck.

    1. Re:My lucid dreaming technique by Anonymous+Writer · · Score: 1

      I do a lot of what you said. I've actually been using an Olympus DS-2000 digital voice recorder to record dreams and archive them on my PowerBook for the past 2 years. The audio compression works so amazingly well that it makes it feasible to do so. Before that I used dream journals. I agree that keeping a journal helps. It's surprising how the memories of a dream start flooding back when you start recording it, even if you feel like you don't remember much before doing so. The test that I've practiced is reading text twice over to see if it changes. The method you describe sounds a lot like the MILD technique. Napping helps as well. I've also read that spinning around apparently helps keep you in a dream if you feel like you're waking up, for some reason.

  78. Torquemada's Magic Fingers by kevmit · · Score: 1
    Quoth the parent article:
    "...The mattress vibrates and bulges strategically under your upper and lower back, stretching your spine to its limits"...
    Stretching your spine to its limits?! JFC! Sounds like a bed designed by Count Rugen.
    Are they sure these poor Matsushita employees are sleeping...or just "mostly dead"?