Sleep and Environment Control Method and System

• US 20120296156A1
• Filed: 05/20/2011
• Published: 11/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Withings S.A.
• Original Assignee: Withings S.A.
• Inventors: Auphan, Raphael
• Granted Patent: US 8,690,751 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/28
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 21/003 Lighting, radio, telephone or the like connected to the bedstead
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 29/003 Bed canopies
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 31/123 for beds or mattresses
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/205 Determining bladder or urethral pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/369 Electroencephalography [EEG] devices for psychotechnics A61B5/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4806 Sleep evaluation A61B5/4821 takes precedence; devices for inducing sleep A61M21/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0022 by the tactile sense, e.g. vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0027 by the hearing sense
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0044 by the sight sense
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0066 with heating or cooling
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 21/02 for inducing sleep or relaxation, e.g. by direct nerve stimulation, hypnosis, analgesia for massage A61H; electrotherapy A61N, e.g. applying alternating or intermittent electric currents for producing anaesthesia A61N1/36021
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3306 Optical measuring means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3368 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3375 Acoustical, e.g. ultrasonic, measuring means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/505 Touch-screens; Virtual keyboard or keypads; Virtual buttons; Soft keys; Mouse touches
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/005 Parameter used as control input for the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/04 Heartbeat characteristics, e.g. ECG, blood pressure modulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/06 Heartbeat rate only
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/10 : Electroencephalographic signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/42 : Rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/435 : partial O2 pressure (P-O2)
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/50 : Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/63 : Motion, e.g. physical activity

Abstract

A sleep system is provided that aids in achieving a sleep goal through the control of an environment near a person. The sleep system includes a processor capable of executing instructions used for controlling one or more aspects of the environment and a memory capable of holding the instructions. Upon executing the instructions, the sleep system receives a sleep goal for the person that includes varying the nearby environment. The processor may further execute instructions to create settings that vary at least one environmental condition of the environment over time as it relates to one or more cycles of a sleep architecture for the person. Varying at least one environmental condition near the person experiencing one or more cycles of the sleep architecture influences the quality of the person'"'"'s sleep. The sleep system may further adjust at least one environmental condition in the vicinity of the person in accordance with the sleep architecture for the person.

Claims

1. A sleep modification method comprising:

receiving a sleep goal that may be achieved through control of an environment near a person;

creating settings that vary at least one environmental condition of the environment over time as it relates to one or more cycles of a sleep architecture for the person; and

influencing a sleep quality of the person through control of the at least one environmental condition near the person experiencing one or more cycles of the sleep architecture.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the sleep goal further includes contributing sleep data from the person indicative of sleep quality and corresponding environmental data into a sleep repository along with the one or more cycles of the sleep architecture for the person.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one environmental condition is selected from a set of environmental conditions including light and sound

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the sleep repository further includes historical information from the sleep of the person along with corresponding environmental data gathered over time from the environment associated with the person.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the sleep repository further includes having historical sleep data from the sleep of the person as well as historical sleep data from one or more other people along with corresponding environmental data gathered over time from the environment associated with the person and the one or more other people.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising correlating the sleep quality for the person with the sleep architecture for the person using at least a history of the sleep quality for the person and corresponding history of environmental data for the person.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the sleep quality includes one or more factors selected from a set of factors including:

sleep inertia after waking up, sleep debt accumulation, architecture of sleep phases, breathing quality, sleep efficiency, duration of wakeups during sleep time, actual frequency of wakeups, sleep onset time, wake-up time, and total sleeping time and actual time taken to fall asleep.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the sleep quality is measured as a weighted combination of the one or more factors.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the sleep quality for the person is normalized to allow the sleep quality for the person to be compared with a sleep quality from other people.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein the sleep quality for the person and corresponding environmental data are normalized to allow for a comparison with a sleep quality from other people and an associated corresponding environmental data.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein correlating the sleep quality for the person with the sleep architecture for the person further comprises:

performing sleep trend analysis on historical sleep quality from the person and historical environmental data to update the at least one environmental condition used in the sleep architecture for the person; and

mining the historical sleep quality and the historical environmental data for one or more suggested environmental conditions in view of the desired sleep goal for the person.

12. A sleep modification method comprising:

receiving a sleep goal that may be achieved through control of an environment near a person;

creating settings that vary at least one environmental condition of the environment over time as it relates to one or more cycles of a sleep architecture for the person;

influencing a sleep quality of the person through control of the at least one environmental condition near the person experiencing one or more cycles of the sleep architecture; and

adjusting the at least one environmental condition in the vicinity of the person in accordance with the sleep architecture for the person.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein receiving the sleep goal further includes contributing sleep data from the person indicative of sleep quality and corresponding environmental data into a sleep repository along with the one or more cycles of the sleep architecture for the person.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the at least one environmental condition is selected from a set of environmental conditions including light and sound

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the sleep repository further includes historical information from the sleep of the person along with corresponding environmental data gathered over time from the environment associated with the person.

16. A sleep system comprising:

a processor capable of executing instructions used in controlling an environment surrounding a person to affect a sleep quality for the person;

a memory capable of holding instructions when executed cause the processor to receive a sleep goal that may be achieved through control of the environment near the person, create settings for the environment that vary at least one environmental condition over time for the person that relates to a sleep architecture having one or more cycles and influence a sleep quality of the person through control of the at least one environmental condition near the person experiencing one or more cycles of the sleep architecture.

17. The system of claim 16 further comprising a set of one or more sensors wherein the set of one or more sensors may gather sleep data and environmental data useful to further influence the sleep quality for the person.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the sensors are selected from a set of sensors including:

a respiration sensor, a heartbeat sensor, a movement sensor, an air sensor, a light sensor, a sound sensor, a temperature sensor and other environmental sensors.

19. The system of claim 16 wherein receiving the sleep goal further includes contributing sleep data from the person indicative of sleep quality and corresponding environmental data along with the sleep architecture for the person into a sleep repository.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein the sleep quality includes one or more factors selected from a set of factors including:

sleep inertia after waking up, sleep debt accumulation, architecture of sleep phases, breathing quality, sleep efficiency, duration of wakeups during sleep time, actual frequency of wakeups, sleep onset time, wake-up time, and total sleeping time and actual time taken to fall asleep.

21. The system of claim 17 further comprising instructions that correlate the sleep quality for the person with the sleep architecture for the person using at least a history of the sleep quality for the person and corresponding history of environmental data for the person.

22. The system of claim 16 further comprising instructions that normalize the sleep quality for the person allowing the sleep quality for the person to be compared with a sleep quality from other people.

23. The system of claim 16 wherein the one or more different environmental conditions may further include a set of different conditions including:

light, temperature, air, sound and vibration.