Phone monitors sleep patterns
Phone monitors sleep patterns
2008-09-26Newsfeed
Innovative new technology for screening sleep disorders is being used by a mobile phone company to produce a new smart alarm clock.
Innovative new technology for screening sleep disorders is being used by a mobile phone company to produce a new smart alarm clock.
Sleep disorders are very common in modern society. Up to 20% of adults suffer from organic sleep disorders. In the past, diagnosing sleep disorders required extensive and expensive sleep recording at a sleep laboratory.
Researchers from the Tampere University of Technology and the University of Helsinki, both in Finland, have now developed a technology that can detect the restless movements a person makes when they start to wake up.
Sleep specialist Dr Tapani Salmi said: "Very soon we noticed that a common microphone is very sensitive to any sounds and voices produced by movements in the bed during night-time."
The HappyWakeUp smart alarm uses the new technology to detect the movement a body makes when it is almost awake or in the process of waking and gives a signal.
Experts say the continuous use of the clock will help the internal clock in a person's brain learn the proper sleep rhythms.
"Pleasant mornings help avoid stress in your body and brain. Elevated stress-levels are associated with several risk factors and even diseases, such as hypertension and problems with the heart and brain," Dr Salmi said.
Scientists predict that the sensitive microphone recording could also be used in monitoring other aspects of sleep disorder.
Copyright © The Press Association 2008
