Search for my perfect EILD device
I'm trying to devise a simple, cheap, EILD device. I have a concept for something I think may work, but I'm just short of a little electrical know-how. Here I post my idea. I'd like input from folk on how this EILD device could be made.
Problem:
Sleep masks can fall off during the night.
They are uncomfortable.
If they are home-made you have to have a wire connected to your mask during the night.
My idea for a solution:
Mount an LED on a nose stud (Yes, I'd be willing to get my nose pierced in pursuit of LDs). Or, make a nose stud that IS an LED.
Benefits: The position of the LED cannot change throughout the night.
The light is guaranteed to reach your eye.
It's small.
It will be less uncomfortable than a large sleep mask.
How it would work
It is important to note that this device couldn't detect REM (unless you can contribute any ideas on that) but it would need a timer/switch. The power source (a button battery) is easy (and could be mounted as a nose stud on the other side of the nose). The problem is the timing. What's the smallest timer available? There must be timers available that are small enough to fit on the bridge of the nose. The timer needs to:
Be set when you go to bed (which could be after WBTB).
Switch on your LED at a set time.
Electric shocks
You will already know that touching your tongue with a battery produces a strange electric shock sensation. I've found through experiments that a similar effect is achieved when you apply the same voltage to the nostrils. As an alternative to using a LED light, the device (by nose studs) could administer a small electric shock to the nose - not enough to wake you up, but strong enough for you to feel in a dream as a lucid dreaming cue.
Alternative ideas:
It may also be possible to devise a mouth guard (or something similar to a brace) that administers a small electric shock to the tongue as a dream cue.
The LED could be mounted on an eyebrow piercing instead of a nose piercing.
There may be a way to connect an LED to the hair on eyebrows (crocodile clips work, but it would need something more secure).