03.27 + 03.29: Refined Scenarios, Stakeholder Map, and Research Plan
This week we synthesized the feedback from our speed dating sessions and landed on the intersection of sleep and music as our concept direction. For our other concept (a streaming service for business in which patrons could vote on songs), people could see a clear application, but wondered how this would play out given a wide range of musical taste. They also felt this direction was very straightforward, but didn’t allow as much room for originality. For our music and sleep concept, they had a harder time imagining the touchpoints involved in this concept, but agreed that it presented a novel problem space and were interested in the possibilities for creative interpretation. For this reason, we decided to focus on music and sleep; and specifically, a service that improves sleep quality through intelligent, responsive use of AI generated music.
With this concept in mind, we refined and added upon our original service scenarios.
Refined Scenarios
Stakeholder Map
Research Plan
Sleep Research
We have reached out to the Sleep and Chronobiology Lab at Pitt to schedule an expert interview with a sleep researcher. Our goals from this research are twofold. First, we hope to learn more about sleep disorders and how music can be implemented as a method of treatment. Second, we hope to learn about the research they are conducting and how a service like this could generate useful data for them. Given that one aspect of our service is a portal for researchers to access data, they will be perfect subjects to collect feedback. And finally, they may be able to connect us with some patients willing to discuss their sleep issues so that we can conduct user research.
Competitive Research
This coming week we will continue conducting competitive research to better understand the landscape of sleep aid. We have already identified a number of sleep tracking apps, the most interesting being the Beddit sensor: https://www.beddit.com. Beddit consists of a sensor the user puts on their bed and an app through which they can see data about their sleep.
AI Research
We also hope to get in touch with some AI experts and identify AI generated music precedents to better understand the feasibility of AI generated music in this context. Brain.fm is a very relevant first precedent, given the similarity to our concept. They use music created by an AI “composer” to influence the brain’s cognitive states. Users can focus on thing like focus, relaxation, meditation, and sleep.
Scientific Research
Quantifying the Problem
According to the National Sleep Foundation, 60 percent of US adults report having sleep problems multiple times per week. “More than 40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month — with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more.”
The American Psychological Association outlines some of the conditions most likely to impact a person’s sleep:
“Stress is the number one cause of short-term sleeping difficulties, according to sleep experts. Common triggers include school- or job-related pressures, a family or marriage problem and a serious illness or death in the family. Usually the sleep problem disappears when the stressful situation passes. However, if short-term sleep problems such as insomnia aren’t managed properly from the beginning, they can persist long after the original stress has passed.”
“Traveling also disrupts sleep, especially jet lag and traveling across several time zones. This can upset your biological or “circadian” rhythms.”
“Environmental factors such as a room that’s too hot or cold, too noisy or too brightly lit can be a barrier to sound sleep.”
Music As A Solution
Numerous studies have attempted to demonstrate the positive impact of music on quality and ease of sleep. In Music Improves Sleep Quality In Students (Harmat, Takacs & Bodizs, 2008), the authors found that in a group of 94 students age 19–28, relaxing classical music created a statistically significant improvement in sleep quality and a reduction in depressive symptoms. They recommend that this method could be used as an easy first treatment for insomnia.
Another study, From pilot project to RCT — Music intervention to improve sleep quality in depressed patients: A mixed methods study (Lund, Heyman-Shlaczinska & Pedersen, 2017), found that in a randomized controlled trial of 9 depressive patients exhibiting symptoms of insomnia, music was an effective intervention in improving quality of sleep. Specially designed playlists developed by Danish music therapists were used as the music in the study.
