Sleepscapes: the reason behind happy snoozing

At Loóna, we developed the sleepscapes within our app in response to the increasing prevalence of sleep disorders, the increased understanding around the importance of sleep amongst experts, and the lack of accessibility to sleep medicine care.

When we use the term ‘sleepscape’, we are referring to the unique relaxation tool that features on the Loóna app. They work as interactive guided art meditation, accompanied by original music.

In English, words ending in ‘-scape’ are associated with art. For example, ‘seascape’, ‘landscape’ and ‘tablescape’ are connected to artistic works in a very literal sense. However, ‘mindscape’ and ‘soundscape’ are linked to art in a more figurative way.

Words ending in ‘-scape’ also relate to the word ‘escape’, evoking a sense of taking refuge from any stresses or burdens to find peace and relaxation. Thus, the term ‘sleepscape’ is a fitting description for Loóna’s sleep tool as it seeks to provide respite from busy modern life through creativity.

This article will explain how the various components of Loóna’s sleepscapes have been designed to aid those suffering from a range of sleep problems, particularly insomnia.

The use of mobile phone apps in sleep medicine

A 2017 systematic review found that mobile phone interventions are capable of enhancing sleep quality and treating sleep disorders. The mobile phone apps included in this study ranged from sleep tracking, to real-time sleep advice, to smart alarm clocks. Some also involved elements of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia.

However, at Loóna we wanted to explore a different app-based approach to combating sleep problems. Since effective stress management through the use of relaxation techniques has long been crucial in the treatment of a range of sleep problems (particularly insomnia), we wanted to create an app that focused on stress management tools as a way to prepare users for sleep. Research has begun to show that relaxation techniques delivered through mobile phone apps have great potential for the treatment of stress and anxiety, but few apps were linking relaxation techniques to sleep.

Our sleepscapes offer a great solution. By limiting the duration of each sleepscape we have been able to help control the pre-sleep screen time of users, while reinforcing relaxation and instilling better sleep hygiene.

The creation of our sleepscapes occurred within the context of increased innovation in the area of sleep medicine. Telemedicine has become increasingly normalised and consumer sleep technologies have flooded the market. By working with sleep clinicians, we hope to be part of efforts to integrate consumer sleep technologies into clinical practice.

Music

In light of recent research showing how listening to music improves mental and emotional health, influences physiological processes (heart rate, skin temperature and muscle activity), and improves sleep quality, we decided that music had to be a key component of our sleepscapes.

Research has suggested that the type of music can make a difference. Listening to deep sounds, such as white noise and natural sounds, has been found to positively impact subjective sleep quality. Studies that measure brain activity, physiological responses and cognitive performance have also indicated that listening to deep sounds positively impacts objective sleep quality.

With this in mind, the Loóna team created a range of original soothing, ambient sounds to strengthen the comforting environments explored in the sleepscapes. Our sleepscapes are also narrated by a gentle voice to relax and focus the mind.

Given that the positive impact of listening to music on our sleep is enhanced when music is combined with other relaxation techniques, it made sense that the music in our sleepscapes is combined with an art component and a guided imagery component.

Research has also revealed that the sound pressure and diffusion of sound throughout the space has an impact on the sleep benefits of listening to music. For this reason, users of the Loóna app are prompted to use headphones when engaging with the sleepscapes as a way of optimising the impact of the music.

Members of the Loóna community have highlighted how the music adds texture to the sleepscapes, allowing them to “drift off to music” even if they have never found music therapy useful in the past. One user described the distinct combination of music, storytelling and artwork as “the most unique and genuinely helpful” of all the apps, books and audios they had tried.

We know that the type of music that works best for an individual is personal to them, so we have provided a diverse library of ‘soundscapes’ too.

Art

Loóna’s sleepscapes guide members through a simple and immersive colouring activity alongside music and storytelling, aimed at gently activating creativity and concentration.

We included this form of art therapy into our sleepscapes because art therapy has been associated with improved emotional and mental wellbeing. Not only does art-making provide us with a medium for communication, it can also boost self-esteem, and allow us to express our individuality without judgment.

Although it is difficult to measure how effective art therapy is at improving sleep, it is clear that art therapy is a widely accessible and inexpensive way for us to reduce stress, process negative emotions and improve our mental and emotional health.

The colouring activities in our sleepscapes involve gradually bringing a landscape to life with natural elements and warm colours. This imbues a sense of safety and comfort, as well as order and control on the part of members as they are responsible for completing the art in their own time.

Many users of the app have been impressed by the quality of the graphics and the way in which the interactivity with them through the colouring activities allows them to mentally prepare for sleep. One member noted that focusing on the comforting colouring activity soothed their OCD tendencies.

Storytelling

We integrated a storytelling component into our sleepscapes to provide members of the Loóna community with the benefits of guided imagery.

Guided imagery aims to generate feelings of calm, safety and nurturance by talking users through a pleasant imaginary scene. It works by reframing the user’s emotions, changing the balance of the nervous system. During Loóna’s sleepscapes, a narrator describes a scene and prompts the user to gradually engage with the soothing activities linked to the scene.

Healing Light Guided Imagery is a form of guided imagery that involves visions of light. It has been shown to reduce depressed mood and fatigue, leading to significant gains in physical and mental quality of life. Given how much we now know about the impact of mental health on sleep, we wanted our sleepscapes to include elements of light, such as lanterns, as well as the illumination of the image through colouring activities.

Nature-based guided imagery has been found to be more effective at managing anxiety than other types of guided imagery. This is why our sleepscapes contain lots of natural features like gently blowing winds, animals and mythical creatures, plants and natural materials.

One member said that the sleepscapes allowed them to “shut off from the world” and find “a moment […of…] peace.” Many parents of children with attention-deficit problems have noted how the “immersive […] stories” make our sleepscapes a great alternative to a bedtime story, allowing both parent and child to wind down together at the end of the day. Parents have also found that their child’s use of the Loóna app directs their screen time away from over-stimulating mobile phone apps. This is very promising given how common ‘nomophobia’ (addiction to mobile phones) is among young people and how damaging the impact of nomophobia is on sleep. Others have found that the sleepscapes strengthen their bedtime routine, leading to less issues with getting to sleep and fewer night wakings.

Summary

At Loóna we have created sleepscapes that are targeted towards transitioning the mindset of the user from daytime alertness, and potentially stress, to the calm, relaxed and comfortable state that is required for attaining good quality sleep.

Never has stress management been so crucial to the treatment of sleep problems. Stress is highly prevalent in modern society with our tendency to live busy, fast-paced, 24/7 lives and to over-use technologies that can negatively affect our mental health and even illicit addictive responses. Recent global events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and governmental responses to it, have further increased stress levels for many people.

In a short space of time, members of the Loóna community have reported incredibly encouraging results through their engagement with our sleepscapes. This positive feedback has come from a wide range of individuals, from those looking to simply optimise their sleep, to those suffering from sleep disorders, mental health issues or learning difficulties.

Explore our sleepscapes for yourself by downloading the Loóna app and see what benefits you can derive from the unique comb