Sleep guidance system and related methods
First Claim
1. A method of guiding a sleep pattern of a sleeper, the method comprising:
- monitoring at least one physiological characteristic of a sleeper;
generating at least one sensory stimulus to pace the sleeper; and
varying the at least one sensory stimulus.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A sleep efficiency monitor and methods for pacing and leading a sleeper through an optimal sleep pattern. Embodiments of the present invention include a physiological characteristic monitor for monitoring the sleep stages of a sleeper, a sensory stimulus generator for generating stimulus to affect the sleep stages of a sleeper, and a processor for determining what sleep stage the sleeper is in and what sensory stimulus is needed to cause the sleeper to move to another sleep stage. A personalized sleep profile may also be established for the sleeper and sleep guided in accordance with the profile parameters to optimize a sleep session. By providing sensory stimulus to a sleeper, the sleeper may be guided through the various sleep stages in an optimal pattern so that the sleeper awakens refreshed even if sleep is disrupted during the night or the sleeper'"'"'s allotted sleep period is different than usual. Embodiments of the invention also involve calibration of the sleep guidance system to a particular sleeper.
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Citations
68 Claims
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1. A method of guiding a sleep pattern of a sleeper, the method comprising:
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monitoring at least one physiological characteristic of a sleeper;
generating at least one sensory stimulus to pace the sleeper; and
varying the at least one sensory stimulus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of guiding a sleep pattern of a sleeper, the method comprising:
- monitoring at least one physiological characteristic of a sleeper indicative of a current sleep stage of the sleeper;
generating at least one sensory stimulus to pace the sleeper; and
varying the at least one sensory stimulus to lead the sleeper to a sleep stage different from the current sleep stage. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
- monitoring at least one physiological characteristic of a sleeper indicative of a current sleep stage of the sleeper;
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30. A method of guiding a sleep pattern of a sleeper between NREM and REM sleep, the method comprising:
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monitoring at least one physiological characteristic of the sleeper indicative of NREM sleep;
generating a sensory stimulus having at least one characteristic to pace the sleeper;
varying the sensory stimulus having at least one characteristic configured to lead the sleeper to enter REM sleep; and
monitoring the physiological characteristic to determine whether the sensory stimulus was effective to lead the sleeper to enter REM sleep. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A sleep pattern adjustor comprising:
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a physiological characteristic monitor;
a sensory stimulus generator; and
a processor operatively associated with the physiological characteristic monitor and the sensory stimulus generator, the processor configured to receive input from the physiological characteristic monitor indicative of a first sleep stage of a sleeper and provide output to the sensory stimulus generator to cause the sensory stimulus generator to generate at least a first sensory stimulus in response to the input received from the physiological characteristic monitor to pace the sleeper, and to vary the first sensory stimulus to lead the sleeper from the first sleep stage to a second sleep stage. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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64. An apparatus for guiding a sleep pattern of a sleeper to change between NREM and REM sleep, the apparatus comprising:
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a physiological characteristic monitor configured to monitor at least one physiological characteristic of a sleeper;
a sensory stimulus generator configured to generate at least one sensory stimulus in response to the physiological characteristic of the sleeper to pace the sleeper; and
a processor operatively associated with the physiological characteristic monitor and the sensory stimulus generator, the processor configured to receive input from the physiological characteristic monitor indicative of a NREM sleep stage, and provide output to the sensory stimulus generator to vary the at least one sensory stimulus to lead the sleeper to a REM sleep stage. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68)
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Specification