3 ms·

Anti-aging and longevity are two different things. My parents haven't stopped aging, but they are living longer than any of their parents did. not only are they

Anti-aging and longevity are two different things. My parents haven't stopped aging, but they are living longer than any of their parents did. not only are they living longer, they are living better. We work in the sleeptech space, and sleep degrades as we age, beginning in late 30s. This degradation of sleep is closely linked to degenerative brain disease such as Alzheimer's and dementia. By improving sleep we aim to improve cognitive function longer in life, and improve immune system as well. So yes, aging is inevitable, but I believe so is extending the human lifespan.

germinalphrase 5y ago
Can you elaborate on ‘sleeptech’? Are you doing more than simply monitoring sleep quality?
- pedalpete 5y ago
  No, sleep monitoring isn't helpful for most people, what do you do with the data? We're focused on improving the neurological functioning of your brain during sleep. We talk a bit about it on our (very fluffy) website https://soundmind.co https://soundmind.co - and link to the research on the "how it works" page. We put up the website before we really understood our target market, and even the long-term impact, so we'll be updating it as we get closer to launching. We're working on improving comfort so we can properly get into trials.
  - irrational 5y ago
    I’ve never dreamed (to the best of my knowledge, but I doubt it, I’m 50 years old and I think by now I’d have some inkling if I dreamed at night). Do you have any data on longevity of non-dreamers?
    - pedalpete 5y ago
      Everyone dreams, you just don't remember your dreams. Though we're interested in REM, it isn't our focus atm...and yes, you dream in non-REM sleep, but those sorts of dreams are different. REM (dream sleep) is thought to be connected to resolving emotional stresses. I haven't seen any research on the reduction of REM sleep and the impact. Sorry.
      - irrational 5y ago
        Is there actual proof that everyone dreams?
        pedalpete 5y ago
        My understanding is that neurologists are taking this from EEG readings and that even people who say they "don't dream" show the same telltale markers of dream as people who do dream.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - samename 5y ago
    Sounds really interesting, best of luck! You mentioned trials, are you trying to get FDA approved?
    - pedalpete 5y ago
      We're just looking at FDA atm. We don't have to get approval, but we're looking at registering as a medical device (Class 1, maybe Class 2). Do you have any experience with that process? We're implementing existing research, with a bit of our own spin on it. My co-founder and I both come from CSIRO (Australia's Science and Technology Org), so our trial is a combination of measuring that we've implemented the science correctly, it's having the impact we want/expect, and we can prove it. This isn't a medical trial, but we are following regular research protocols.
  - peanutz454 5y ago
    > Your sleep is unique to you, which is why SoundMind monitors your sleep in real-time and with subtle tones guides your sleep cycles for your ideal recovery how would this work if you have a partner?
    - pedalpete 5y ago
      We're only measuring your brain waves, not your partners :) we play sound through bone-conduction, so nothing in your ears, nothing covering your ears, only you can hear it (there is some sound leakage, but minimal).
      - peanutz454 5y ago
        Completely forgot about bone conduction (I was thinking bed side speakers disturbing your partner, or conventional headphones disturbing you), but still you need it strapped on - a slight discomfort. Also, since you mention measuring, there is another component strapped on (unless it is a fabric woven sensor). An image search on EEG produces cumbersome looking devices.
        pedalpete 5y ago
        yeah, we've got soft fabric sensors and the bone conduction speakers are amazingly small. We're still working on comfort with our prototypes - but we're getting pretty good. Our industrial design firm has nocked it out of the park with design, and we think there stuff will have a huge impact on comfort. Still needs to be tried.
axaxs 5y ago
So, I'm interested. There is a clear link between Benadryl and dementia. Many say that you shouldn't take it as a result. I've posited that people with 'broken sleep' due to overactive thoughts or anxiety may raise the risk of dementia and benadryl is caught in the crossfire of suffering folks. Do you have any opinion?
- pedalpete 5y ago
  I have never heard of the link to Benadryl, unless they are taking benadryl to "help" with sleep. In your deepest sleep, there are bursts of brain activity called Slow Wave Oscillations. These have a strong impact on memory consolidation, as well as the clearing of amyloid (beta-amyloid) plaques (think of them like cholesterol in your veins, but amyloids are in your brain). If you don't get enough deep sleep, and therefore reduce the SWOs, you get a buildup of amyloid plaques. As we age, we get less deep sleep, less SWOs, you can see where this is going. It isn't "overactive thoughts" specifically, but again, if you're not getting enough deep sleep due to anxiety I suspect you'd see the same result - but I haven't seen research on that specifically. However, there is also the issue of us generally having high cortisol levels due to constant fight or flight. There is some research that shows that these high cortisol levels keep our brains in lighter levels of sleep, and therefore reduce deep sleep, making us feel more tired, and damaging our brains. This is connected to the "tired and wired" phenomenon. It's really a fascinating area.
  - axaxs 5y ago
    Thanks for replying. Here is one among many, and I'm a bit surprised you hadn't come across it yet - https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-drugs-like-benadryl-linked-increased-dementia-risk-201501287667 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-d... Are you saying the drug prevents slow wave oscillations? The main reason for my whole position is that my wife's village believes people who have an 'over-active' brain get dementia, and can all name examples. They have nothing like benadryl there.
    - pedalpete 5y ago
inglor_cz 5y ago
"Anti-aging and longevity are two different things." Depends on what you precisely mean by longevity. The word used to mean "living long naturally", but the meaning has been shifting towards lifespan and healthspan extension in the last decade or so. So if someone now says that they are interested in science of longevity, they probably mean "reaching 110 years of age in good health". For that, you need anti-aging tech definitely. Our natural lifespan is shorter and breeding humans for natural longevity [0], while theoretically possible, would take several thousand years. [0] Theoretically, you could take a big group of humans who are still fertile at 40, let them reproduce and, in the next generation, lift the limit slightly, say, to 40,5. After tens of generations, you will have a group selected for longevity, because late fertility tends to align with longevity. But given how long our generations are, that would take a long, long time.

germinalphrase 5y ago

Can you elaborate on ‘sleeptech’? Are you doing more than simply monitoring sleep quality?

pedalpete 5y ago
No, sleep monitoring isn't helpful for most people, what do you do with the data? We're focused on improving the neurological functioning of your brain during sleep. We talk a bit about it on our (very fluffy) website https://soundmind.co https://soundmind.co - and link to the research on the "how it works" page. We put up the website before we really understood our target market, and even the long-term impact, so we'll be updating it as we get closer to launching. We're working on improving comfort so we can properly get into trials.
- irrational 5y ago
  I’ve never dreamed (to the best of my knowledge, but I doubt it, I’m 50 years old and I think by now I’d have some inkling if I dreamed at night). Do you have any data on longevity of non-dreamers?
  - pedalpete 5y ago
    Everyone dreams, you just don't remember your dreams. Though we're interested in REM, it isn't our focus atm...and yes, you dream in non-REM sleep, but those sorts of dreams are different. REM (dream sleep) is thought to be connected to resolving emotional stresses. I haven't seen any research on the reduction of REM sleep and the impact. Sorry.
    - irrational 5y ago
      Is there actual proof that everyone dreams?
      - pedalpete 5y ago
        My understanding is that neurologists are taking this from EEG readings and that even people who say they "don't dream" show the same telltale markers of dream as people who do dream.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- samename 5y ago
  Sounds really interesting, best of luck! You mentioned trials, are you trying to get FDA approved?
  - pedalpete 5y ago
    We're just looking at FDA atm. We don't have to get approval, but we're looking at registering as a medical device (Class 1, maybe Class 2). Do you have any experience with that process? We're implementing existing research, with a bit of our own spin on it. My co-founder and I both come from CSIRO (Australia's Science and Technology Org), so our trial is a combination of measuring that we've implemented the science correctly, it's having the impact we want/expect, and we can prove it. This isn't a medical trial, but we are following regular research protocols.
- peanutz454 5y ago
  > Your sleep is unique to you, which is why SoundMind monitors your sleep in real-time and with subtle tones guides your sleep cycles for your ideal recovery how would this work if you have a partner?
  - pedalpete 5y ago
    We're only measuring your brain waves, not your partners :) we play sound through bone-conduction, so nothing in your ears, nothing covering your ears, only you can hear it (there is some sound leakage, but minimal).
    - peanutz454 5y ago
      Completely forgot about bone conduction (I was thinking bed side speakers disturbing your partner, or conventional headphones disturbing you), but still you need it strapped on - a slight discomfort. Also, since you mention measuring, there is another component strapped on (unless it is a fabric woven sensor). An image search on EEG produces cumbersome looking devices.
      - pedalpete 5y ago
        yeah, we've got soft fabric sensors and the bone conduction speakers are amazingly small. We're still working on comfort with our prototypes - but we're getting pretty good. Our industrial design firm has nocked it out of the park with design, and we think there stuff will have a huge impact on comfort. Still needs to be tried.

axaxs 5y ago

So, I'm interested. There is a clear link between Benadryl and dementia. Many say that you shouldn't take it as a result. I've posited that people with 'broken sleep' due to overactive thoughts or anxiety may raise the risk of dementia and benadryl is caught in the crossfire of suffering folks. Do you have any opinion?

pedalpete 5y ago
I have never heard of the link to Benadryl, unless they are taking benadryl to "help" with sleep. In your deepest sleep, there are bursts of brain activity called Slow Wave Oscillations. These have a strong impact on memory consolidation, as well as the clearing of amyloid (beta-amyloid) plaques (think of them like cholesterol in your veins, but amyloids are in your brain). If you don't get enough deep sleep, and therefore reduce the SWOs, you get a buildup of amyloid plaques. As we age, we get less deep sleep, less SWOs, you can see where this is going. It isn't "overactive thoughts" specifically, but again, if you're not getting enough deep sleep due to anxiety I suspect you'd see the same result - but I haven't seen research on that specifically. However, there is also the issue of us generally having high cortisol levels due to constant fight or flight. There is some research that shows that these high cortisol levels keep our brains in lighter levels of sleep, and therefore reduce deep sleep, making us feel more tired, and damaging our brains. This is connected to the "tired and wired" phenomenon. It's really a fascinating area.
- axaxs 5y ago
  Thanks for replying. Here is one among many, and I'm a bit surprised you hadn't come across it yet - https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-drugs-like-benadryl-linked-increased-dementia-risk-201501287667 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-d... Are you saying the drug prevents slow wave oscillations? The main reason for my whole position is that my wife's village believes people who have an 'over-active' brain get dementia, and can all name examples. They have nothing like benadryl there.
  - pedalpete 5y ago

inglor_cz 5y ago

"Anti-aging and longevity are two different things." Depends on what you precisely mean by longevity. The word used to mean "living long naturally", but the meaning has been shifting towards lifespan and healthspan extension in the last decade or so. So if someone now says that they are interested in science of longevity, they probably mean "reaching 110 years of age in good health". For that, you need anti-aging tech definitely. Our natural lifespan is shorter and breeding humans for natural longevity [0], while theoretically possible, would take several thousand years. [0] Theoretically, you could take a big group of humans who are still fertile at 40, let them reproduce and, in the next generation, lift the limit slightly, say, to 40,5. After tens of generations, you will have a group selected for longevity, because late fertility tends to align with longevity. But given how long our generations are, that would take a long, long time.