Can meaningless noise improve sleep?
It started when my brother, who had just learned to talk, began showing very early signs of autism. As his obsession with dinosaurs increased, his sleep quality decreased. I decided that it would be a good beginner research project to look into nonpharmaceutical solutions to mitigate what we could — a harmless therapy for a hyperactive toddler.
While my symposium went well, I realized I had enjoyed the engineering part of my project so much that I decided to commit my life to it. It wasn’t the only reason, of course, but it was a big one. Below, you can find the trifold poster that I used to present my project. Trust me, it is not my best work, but the pink is real cute!
This project was not only a behavioral science exploration but also a chance for me to learn engineering basics. The pictures to the top and left show the components of an incubator I had built myself to automate the entire experience on its own. Unfortunately, I became so immersed in building, tweaking, and designing that I ended up having to change my method of data collection to present something at my school’s research symposium. It is not my best work, but it is the first independent research project I have ever done, and I’d say I did a pretty good job for a junior with very little direction in life.
