Can Congressional Hearings Cure Insomnia?

When was the last time you watched CSPAN? Was it when congress debated about health care reform or political campaign contributions. Or was it when comedian Stephen Colbert lambasted congress or when a congressional panel questioned Major League Baseball's top stars about steroid use?

There's a reason why people tune in to see the unusual and entertaining but choose to read about important policy issues in the news later. Congressional procedure is about as entertaining as an early morning accounting seminar in college.

That said, its hard to blame a young boy for falling asleep during his grandfathers floor speech. The CSPAN video (seen below) has become a viral sensation.

The man speaking is U.S. Rep. Joe Poe, a Republican from Texas. In this blogger's opinion, the address about domestic violence was brief and not that boring by Washington's standards. Yet even a congressional aide couldn't keep the boy from drifting to sleep.



It's not just children who can't stay awake through the endless and sometimes pointless posturing. Even presidential candidates have been caught napping at the capitol.

Think you can stay awake through congressional hearings?

Infant Comfort Helps Adults Sleep Slightly Sooner

An infant comfort may lull adults to dreamland. The sensation of being rocked to sleep may help people of any age fall asleep sooner. By manipulating the sense of balance we can replicate the same feeling without ever moving.

The findings were published in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. A sample of 198 healthy normal sleepers laid with their eyes closed, with electrodes attached as researchers tested the experimental technique in a sleep laboratory.

Half of the study participants received an electrical current to stimulate the nerves in the inner ear that that regulate balance. The sleepers claimed they felt like they were floating, rocking and swaying. The currents continued for an hour as the subjects tried to fall asleep.

People who were “rocked to sleep” fell asleep an average of 14 minutes faster than the subjects who received a sham treatment.

Researchers had hoped the experimental treatment would be a cure for short-term insomnia. Data shows the difference in sleep length and quality is fairly minimal.

Home use of the treatment would be impractical even if it made a major difference for insomnia. Sleeping every night while wearing special electrodes is unlikely and physically rocking a grown adult to sleep is ridiculous.