For many, getting a quality night's sleep is few and far between.
In fact, according to the 2005 Sleep in America poll taken by the
National Sleep Foundation, many adults get an average of only 6.9
hours of sleep a night.
The way people wake up in the morning,
however, is just as important as making sure they receive enough
sleep at night, which is why Axon
Sleep Research Laboratories came up with a novel idea: SleepSmart.
Wake up With SleepSmart
SleepSmart is an alarm clock that helps people awake each morning
feeling refreshed by measuring their sleep cycles -- when they are
in their lightest phase of sleep, the clock wakes them up.
When you sleep, you go through a sequence of sleep states that
repeat approximately every 90 minutes:
- Light sleep
- Deep sleep
- REM (rapid eye movement) sleep
The point in that cycle when you wake up could directly influence
the way you feel later on. Thus, being aroused during a light phase
of sleep means you are more likely to get up in the morning feeling
perky.
How, exactly, does SleepSmart work? Using a headband equipped with
electrodes and a microprocessor, the alarm clock records brainwave
patterns during each phase of sleep. In essence, a device measures
the level of electrical activity in a person's brain -- much
as an EEG machine does -- then sends the data to a clock near the
bed. After programming the clock for the latest time one wants to
be woken up, the device will wake that person during the last light
sleep phase before that.
A prototype of the clock is almost finished; Avon Sleep Research
Laboratories plans to market the product by 2006.
New
Scientist April 14, 2005
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