Music has always been used for its calming qualities, but there is still little scientific understanding of how it affects the brain before and during sleep and which musical qualities are particularly effective from both a subjective and an objective perspective in inducing it. Through interdisciplinary research, how music can facilitate  the transition between wakefulness and   sleep and how the quality and depth of sleep can be improved will be examined, a hitherto underexplored field of study.        

Thus, a consortium of 10 European universities and research centres, including UPF, has decided to launch a research project to analyse how music influences sleep, taking into account the profiles and needs of each individual and making use of AI-based machine learning. It is the project Lullabyte, a fusion of Lullaby and byte.

At UPF, the effects of sonification and the generation of interactive music will be investigated, based on electroencephalography (EEG) images in sleep induction and quality. Essentially, sonification is the process that allows generating sounds from data. Specifically, the researchers will examine the potential effects of sound stimulation on brain waves during sleep and explore how music helps the brain relax, induce asleep and improve sleep quality.

The project officially kicked off at the presentation that took place in Frankfurt on 3 and 4 February. In the case of UPF, people who wish to apply to become Lullabyte doctoral students can submit their candidatures until 31 March.

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