This month’s insomnia episode explores a provocative idea: can certain electronics actually help insomnia rather than harm it? While screens and devices are often blamed for poor sleep, some technologies aim to calm the nervous system, teach self-regulation, or reduce the anxiety that keeps insomnia going. In this episode we will:

• Revisit the parasympathetic nervous system, the vagus nerve, and why the “wandering nerve” has fascinated medicine for centuries
• Review the data for non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and devices like Truvaga: what the research shows, what remains unclear, and whether stimulation truly reaches the vagus nerve
• Undwerstand how implantable vagus nerve stimulators for epilepsy differ from consumer wellness devices, and why that matters for insomnia
• Introduce the Muse Athena and the shift from passive neuromodulation to learning an active calming skill
• Unpack what we know so far about the data behind Muse devices and insomnia
• Consider Pavlok and behavioral technology: reducing anxiety around waking, oversleeping, and morning routines
• Learn how to think about sleep tech without falling into orthosomnia or gadget-driven sleep anxiety

Produced by: Maeve Winter

More

• Twitter: @drchriswinter
• IG: @drchriwinter
• Threads: @drchriswinter
• Bluesky: @drchriswinter
• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!