Would it be possible to make a container that induces sleep?

I had a dream the other night about an alien invasion. In this dream, I was one of the first people to be aware that the aliens had landed, and of course I wanted to warn others. The aliens were locking me into a big box for the night, but secretly I had a mobile phone in my hand; I was planning to alert people by text once the aliens had shut the box and gone away. Unfortunately, as soon as the last latch on the box slipped into place, I fell instantly asleep, and (within the dream) only woke up again when the box was reopened.

Would this actually be possible, with science as we know it? If so, how would it be done?

Requirements:

• some kind of sleep-inducing ray
• a container which, when shut, releases said rays (perhaps by closing a circuit)
• instantaneous effect: a person subjected to said rays wouldn't even have time to make a call before falling asleep
• immediate reawakening once the circuit is opened again and the rays stop operating

In other words, a person locked within such a box would be asleep for exactly the period the box is closed, no longer and no shorter.

posted about 7 years ago

Rand al'Thor‭

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