Who else is awake?

Last night i was lying awake, as so often happens, and i wondered if my brother, who lives across the city, was also awake. When i spoke to him today, it turned out he was. It seems that it would be better to sleep, but if sleep really is unfeasible but one isn't wide enough awake to get up and do something like mess about here or make a drink, it would be good to know if a friend was also awake, so one could share one's nocturnal miseries, paranoid worries and loopy musings.

Therefore, i envisage an EEG-style headband donned on retiring to bed. If it detects more than ten minutes of waking brain activity more than an hour after the onset of sleep, it sends a signal to a central server via some kind of network, perhaps the internet or the mobile 'phone system, storing a list of one's friends who have previously registered for this service. This then activates a small device on the bedside which displays the names of other people who can't sleep. One can then communicate with these people via voice (if one is unlikely to disturb other sleepers at either end), by a text-based interface like instant messaging, or a braille system with a chord keyboard to minimise disturbance.

Such communication may lead to a better night's sleep for all concerned.

Apologies for the ramble, but it's hardly surprising really considering the subject.