The average person spends about one-third of their life sleeping. A good night’s sleep is positively correlated with general well-being and cognitive function, and understanding changes in brain activity during sleep may help inform many neuroscientific research questions ranging from cognitive processes to physical performance. Standard sleep studies, or polysomnography (PSG), measure brain activity (EEG), respiration, muscle tone (EMG), eye movements (EOG), and oxygenation during sleep. The resulting output is called hypnogram and consists of a graphical representation of the sleep stages over time. We recognize that there are several clinical PSG systems on the market that are used for diagnostic purposes. For sleep researchers who are interested in more flexible PSG solutions, we offer several low- and high-density portable and wireless EEG systems that can be tailored to the specific needs of the research program. For EEG / ERP researchers who are interested in adding sleep as a parameter to their existing research program, we can work with you to expand your current setup (e.g., customizing comfortable EEG caps that are ideal for long recordings, adding the necessary sensors to enable full PSG recordings, and incorporating software plugins to streamline sleep staging and hypnogram generation). We also offer an affordable, self-donning, light-weight patch that is ideal for recording sleep data from participants in their home environments.
