The papers behind it.
The research we've drawn on, for how yawnography works and for the six bedtime science episodes you can fall asleep to in the bedtime science place. The episodes are written in our own words, from what each paper actually found — including where the evidence is thin. Every paper here is worth reading in full; the open ones are free to anyone.
Why yawns are catching
Narrated in the episode Why yawns are catching.
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Usui S, Senju A, Kikuchi Y, Akechi H, Tojo Y, Osanai H, Hasegawa T (2013).
Presence of contagious yawning in children with autism spectrum disorder.
Autism Research and Treatment, 971686.
doi:10.1155/2013/971686 · open access, CC BY
When films of yawning faces began only once children were looking at the eyes, autistic and non-autistic children caught yawns equally often — about a third of each group.
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Helt MS, Sorensen TM, Scheub RJ, Nakhle MB, Luddy AC (2021).
Patterns of contagious yawning and itching differ amongst adults with autistic traits vs. psychopathic traits.
Frontiers in Psychology 12, 645310.
doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645310 · open access, CC BY 4.0
In 97 university students, about a third caught a yawn and nearly as many caught an itch. Fewer yawns with more autistic traits was partly explained by less looking at the eyes; self-rated empathy didn't predict yawning.
Pink noise, and noise at night
Narrated in the episode What noise does to sleep, and why yawnography's sounds are quiet, slow and fade away rather than a loud wall of noise all night.
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Basner M, Smith MG, Cordoza M, Kayser M, et al. (2026).
Efficacy of pink noise and earplugs for mitigating the effects of intermittent environmental noise exposure on sleep.
Sleep.
doi:10.1093/sleep/zsag001 · open access, CC BY-NC
Over seven nights in a sleep lab, 25 adults slept with traffic and aircraft sounds, pink noise, earplugs, and combinations. Pink noise reduced REM sleep; earplugs prevented nearly all the effects of the noise.
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Vazzaz, Matcham, Economides, Cavanagh (2025).
Between sound and sleep: a perspective on Sonic Sleep Aids.
Sleep, zsaf275.
doi:10.1093/sleep/zsaf275 · open access, CC BY
Calming music has evidence behind it; white and pink noise are inconclusive; and support for narrated content as a sleep aid is still limited — including, honestly, episodes like ours.
Slow breathing before bed
Narrated in the episode Breathing slowly before sleep, and why the sound swells and settles slowly, for you to breathe with.
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Eide, Hernes, Grønli (2026).
Slow breathing techniques before bedtime and the effects on sleep: a systematic review.
Sleep Medicine Reviews, 102284.
doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2026.102284
Nine studies, 457 people, breathing at ten breaths a minute or slower before bed. People reported sleeping longer and better; studies measuring sleep directly were inconclusive.
The cognitive shuffle
Narrated in the episode A mind with no thread, and the idea behind the busy-mind place.
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McCarthy J (2025).
A creatively random way to fall asleep.
Psychology Today, 30 April 2025.
psychologytoday.com
On Luc Beaudoin's cognitive shuffle: picturing a stream of unrelated, harmless things. Its creator reports early studies; it's promising, not yet proven.
Sound sensitivity
Narrated in the episode When sounds are too much, and why every sound here arrives and leaves softly.
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De Laet A, Whitworth M, Fincham H, Lazar AS, Bedford R, Gliga T, et al. (2026).
Sound asleep: sensory decoupling during sleep depends on an infant's sensory profile.
Sleep 49(4), zsag010.
doi:10.1093/sleep/zsag010 · press release
In 41 infants' naps, those more reactive to sensory things had less deep sleep, and soft sounds reduced it further.
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Jager I, de Koning P, Bost T, Denys D, Vulink N (2020).
Misophonia: phenomenology, comorbidity and demographics in a large sample.
PLOS ONE 15(4), e0231390.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0231390 · open access, CC BY 4.0
575 people with misophonia: strong irritation, anger or disgust at particular sounds — most often eating, nose and breathing sounds.
Binaural beats
Narrated in the episode A beat that isn't there, and why yawnography's slow beat is only ever a quiet undertone, not a promise.
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Sleep Foundation (updated 29 July 2025).
Can binaural beats help you fall asleep?
sleepfoundation.org
Two slightly different tones, one in each ear, heard as a slow beat. Its own summary: the evidence for sleep is limited and results vary.