Do you find yourself tossing and turning at night, longing for a switch to help your mind unwind and drift off to sleep? This quest for uninterrupted rest may seem like a futuristic dream, but it’s becoming a reality thanks to Elemind. This innovative startup is harnessing the power of an electroencephalogram (EEG) headband that emits carefully timed acoustic stimulation. This technology aligns with brainwaves to help individuals transition into a restful sleep state more efficiently.
In a recent study involving adults with sleep onset insomnia, the use of this device reduced the time required to fall asleep by 10 to 15 minutes following just 30 minutes of stimulation. Recently, Elemind has begun shipping its product to an initial group of users as part of a pilot program aimed at gathering feedback.
Founded by a team of visionaries from MIT, including Professor Ed Boyden, David Wang, Nir Grossman, Heather Read, and Meredith Perry, Elemind aims to develop a non-invasive alternative to sleeping pills, which often come with undesirable side effects and the potential for addiction.
“Our goal was to create a natural solution for achieving restorative sleep without the drawbacks of medication,” explains Perry, the CEO of Elemind. “There are many individuals who could greatly benefit from our device—be it a new mother avoiding sleep drugs, a frequent traveler tackling jet lag, or anyone looking to enhance next-day performance by regaining control over their sleep patterns.”
Transforming Research into Reality
David Wang, who spent nearly 15 years at MIT earning four degrees culminating in a PhD in artificial intelligence, joined forces with his colleagues during a 2014 class to explore real-time biological oscillations in the human brain and body. This collaboration sparked an interest in a technique known as phase-locked stimulation, which uses synchronized visual, auditory, or physical prompts to modulate brain activity.
“We measure changing brain variables, then modify our stimulus instantly in response,” Crowded explains Boyden, whose insights helped shape core intellectual properties of Elemind. Phase-locked stimulation has been effectively used in treating seizures with implanted electrodes for years. In 2021, a pivotal paper demonstrated its potential to suppress tremors externally, positioning the team to explore sleep as their initial market.
The journey from concept to the headband device seen today involved extensive development to create a system delivering timed auditory pulses that either promote or inhibit alpha brainwave activity linked to insomnia. With this technology, the headband captures EEG data and feeds it into proprietary algorithms to generate audio through bone conduction. As soon as the device detects the user asleep, it gradually fades the sound.
“Our theory suggests that the sound prompts an auditory-evoked response in the brain,” describes Wang. “This response induces a voltage burst that affects other brain regions, effectively quieting the thoughts of those who often ruminate at bedtime. Some users humorously refer to it as a ‘brain jammer.’”
Looking Beyond Sleep
Elemind is also collaborating with eight universities to investigate broader applications of their technology, ranging from tremor treatments to improving memory function and addressing Alzheimer’s disease progression.
“While we focus on sleep right now, our goal is to propel the field of neuroscience forward by compiling high-resolution data that can assist in future research,” says Wang. The promising collaborations have yielded compelling outcomes; for instance, researchers at McGill University discovered that using Elemind’s device during sleep boosted cortical activity related to motor skills, enhancing memory task performance in healthy individuals. Other studies indicated reductions in essential tremors among patients and improved recovery experiences following sedation.
Currently concentrating on its sleep-focused application, Elemind has ambitions to explore additional innovative solutions, ranging from medical interventions to cognitive enhancement, as scientific progress unfolds.
“We envision a future where our technology could evolve into something akin to an app store for the brain—users could download specific brain states just as they would apps,” adds Perry. “We aim to create a versatile tool that can serve various applications with one piece of hardware featuring multiple stimulation protocols.”
Photo credit & article inspired by: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
