Method and system of sleep maintenance

Abstract

A method and system of sleep maintenance includes configuring a stimulation device comprising a transducer to emit a transcutaneous vibratory output to a body part of a subject, receiving physiological data of the subject from at least one sensor at a processor, providing a stimulation pattern for the transcutaneous vibratory output to be emitted by the transducer, the stimulation pattern comprising a perceived pitch, a perceived beat, and an intensity of the transcutaneous vibratory output, causing the transducer to emit the transcutaneous vibratory output in the stimulation pattern, determining a sleep state of the subject based on the physiological data, and altering the stimulation pattern based on the sleep state, wherein altering comprises at least one of (i) reducing a frequency of the perceived pitch, (ii) increasing an interval of the perceived beat, or (iii) reducing the intensity.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 configuring a stimulation device comprising a transducer to emit a transcutaneous vibratory output to a body part of a subject;   receiving physiological data of the subject from at least one sensor at a processor;   providing, with the processor, a stimulation pattern for the transcutaneous vibratory output to be emitted by the transducer, the stimulation pattern comprising a perceived pitch, a perceived beat, and an intensity of the transcutaneous vibratory output;   causing, by the processor, the transducer to emit the transcutaneous vibratory output in the stimulation pattern;   determining a sleep state of the subject based on the physiological data; and   altering, by the processor, the stimulation pattern based on the sleep state, wherein altering comprises at least one of (i) reducing a frequency of the perceived pitch, (ii) increasing an interval of the perceived beat, or (iii) reducing the intensity.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the sleep state is at least one of pre-sleep, almost asleep, disturbed sleep, or asleep. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising powering off the stimulation device based on determining that the subject is asleep. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein reducing the frequency of the perceived pitch further comprises reducing the frequency of the perceived pitch to a first reduced frequency and maintaining the first reduced frequency for a first selected period of time. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 4 , further comprising reducing the first reduced frequency to a second reduced frequency and maintaining the second reduced frequency for a second selected period of time. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein increasing the interval of the perceived beat further comprises increasing the interval of the perceived beat to a first increased interval and maintaining the first increased interval for a first selected period of time. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , further comprising increasing the first increased interval to a second increased interval and maintaining the second increased interval for a second selected period of time. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein reducing the intensity further comprises reducing the intensity to a first reduced intensity and maintaining the first reduced intensity for a first selected period of time. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 8 , further comprising reducing the first reduced intensity to a second reduced intensity and maintaining the second reduced intensity for a second selected period of time. 
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein altering based on determining that the subject is asleep includes generating a stimulation pattern configured for sleep maintenance. 
     
     
         11 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the physiological data comprises at least one of movement data or respiration rate data. 
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein reducing the frequency is at a rate of at least 0.01 Hz/sec, at least 0.1 Hz/sec, at least 0.25 Hz/sec, at least 0.5 Hz/sec, or at least 1 Hz/sec. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the frequency of the perceived pitch ranges from about 1 Hz to about 200 Hz. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 4 , wherein the first reduced frequency is less than or equal to 40 Hz. 
     
     
         15 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 4 , wherein the first selected period of time is 60 seconds. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 5 , wherein reducing the first reduced frequency to the second reduced frequency is at a rate of 0.1 Hz/sec. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 5 , wherein the second reduced frequency is about 75% of the first reduced frequency. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 5 , further comprising reducing the second reduced frequency to a third reduced frequency, wherein the third reduced frequency is about 50% of the first reduced frequency. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 18 , wherein reducing the second reduced frequency to the third reduced frequency is at a rate of 0.1 Hz/sec. 
     
     
         20 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the perceived beat ranges from about 0.0001 Hz to 4 Hz. 
     
     
         21 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein increasing the interval comprises reducing the perceived beat at a rate of about 0.002 Hz/sec. 
     
     
         22 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , wherein the perceived beat is reduced by about 50%. 
     
     
         23 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , wherein increasing the first increased interval to the second increased interval comprises reducing the perceived beat at a rate of about 0.003 Hz/sec. 
     
     
         24 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , wherein the perceived beat is reduced by about 25%. 
     
     
         25 . A system, comprising:
 a stimulation device comprising:
 a transducer adapted to emit a transcutaneous vibratory output; and 
 a processor in electronic communication with the transducer, the processor receiving physiological data of a subject and programmed to: 
   cause the transducer to emit stimulation, wherein the stimulation comprises the transcutaneous vibratory output having parameters comprising a perceived pitch, a perceived beat, and an intensity;   determine a sleep state of the subject based on the physiological data; and   alter the transcutaneous vibratory output based on the sleep state, wherein altering comprises at least one of (i) reducing a frequency of the perceived pitch, (ii) increasing an interval of the perceived beat, or (iii) reducing the intensity of the transcutaneous vibratory output.   
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the processor is further programmed to power off the stimulation device based on a determination that the subject is in a sleep state. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein reducing the frequency of the perceived pitch further comprises reducing the frequency of the perceived pitch to a first reduced frequency and maintaining the first reduced frequency for a first selected period of time. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the processor is programmed to reduce the first reduced frequency to a second reduced frequency and maintain the second reduced frequency for a second selected period of time. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein increasing the interval of the perceived beat further comprises increasing the interval of the perceived beat to a first increased interval and maintaining the first increased interval for a first selected period of time. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 29 , wherein the processor is further programmed to increase the first increased interval to a second increased interval and maintain the second increased interval for a second selected period of time. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein reducing the intensity further comprises reducing the intensity to a first reduced intensity and maintaining the first reduced intensity for a selected first period of time. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the processor is further programmed to reduce the first reduced intensity to a second reduced intensity and maintain the second reduced intensity for a selected second period of time. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein altering based on determining that the subject is asleep includes generating a stimulation pattern configured for sleep maintenance. 
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the processor is further programmed to reduce the frequency is at a rate of at least 0.25 Hz/sec, at least 0.5 Hz/sec, or at least 1 Hz/sec. 
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the frequency of the perceived pitch ranges from about 1 Hz to about 200 Hz. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the first reduced frequency is less than or equal to 40 Hz. 
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the first selected period of time is 60 seconds. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the processor is further programmed to reduce the first reduced frequency to the second reduced frequency is at a rate of 0.1 Hz/sec. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the second reduced frequency is about 75% of the first reduced frequency. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the processor is further programmed to reduce the second reduced frequency to a third reduced frequency, wherein the third reduced frequency is about 50% of the first reduced frequency. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 40 , wherein reducing the second reduced frequency to the third reduced frequency is at a rate of 0.1 Hz/sec. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the perceived beat ranges from about 0.0001 Hz to 4 Hz. 
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the processor is further programmed to increase the interval by reducing the perceived beat at a rate of about 0.002 Hz/sec. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 43 , wherein the perceived beat is reduced by about 50%. 
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the processor is further programmed to increase the first increased interval to the second increased interval by reducing the perceived beat at a rate of about 0.003 Hz/sec. 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 45 , wherein the perceived beat is reduced by about 25%. 
     
     
         47 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the processor is further programmed to determine an effectiveness of the stimulation and generate visual feedback to the subject of at least one of the sleep state or the effectiveness.