AU7024487A

AU7024487A - Sleep and relaxation promoting aid

Info

Publication number: AU7024487A
Application number: AU70244/87A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Sven-Erik Nilsson; Torsten Perklev
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-02-10
Filing date: 1987-02-06
Publication date: 1987-08-25
Also published as: SE451800B; EP0292496A1; WO1987004630A1; DK530887D0; FI883704A0; SE8600560L; FI883704A; JPH01502082A; DK530887A; SE8600560D0; FI91485C; FI91485B

Description

SLEEP AND RELAXATION PROMOTING AID

The present invention relates to a sleep and relaxation promoting aid.

It is a well-known fact that 10-15% of the adult population suffer extensively from insomnia, and that about a further 10-15% suffer from lighter forms of sleeplessness. Many people suffer from sleep problems caused by medical and psychic disturbances, but there also exists a large group suffering from psychophysio- logical insomnia, and it is essentially this latter group of people with which the present invention is concerned (cf. Sleep 84, pp. 131-132, Gustav Fischer Verlag Stuttgart, New York, 1985).

At present, different forms of sleeplessness are treated by administering sedatives or hypnotic agents to the patient. Many persons suffering from sleep problems are not helped by conventional type sleeping drugs which are not considered to produce the same high-quality sleep as natural sleep.

Furthermore, it is known that different types of sound may have a relaxing or sedative effect, and that•different people respond differently to different types of sound.

One object of this invention is to provide an aid which can be used in a simple and practical manner for producing natural sleep and which does not disturb other people. A further object is to provide an aid which can be completely or partly inserted in the auditory meatus of the ear. Still another object of the invention is to provide a sound-generating device which is rendered inoperative when a state of relaxation or sleep has been achieved.

These objects are achieved in that the said aid consists of an integrated circuit connected to a current supply unit and having a sound-generating member and a member, connected to an operating means, for con¬ trolling the frequency, amplitude and pattern of the sound, as well as a loudspeaker means, at least the latter being insertable in the auditory meatus or placeable in direct conjunction with the ear.

The invention will be described in more detail below, reference being had to the accompanying drawing which illustrates an embodiment and in which

Fig. 1 shows the device in the form of a block diagram, and

Fig. 2 shows the device inserted in the auditory meatus of the ear.

The sleep and relaxation promoting aid illustrated in the drawing is shown merely in the form of a block diagram because the electronics expert will have no difficulty in designing the circuits involved by apply¬ ing prior art technique. The main part of the aid is an integrated circuit 10 comprising a digital part 16 and an analog part 17. The integrated circuit 10 is connected to a current supply unit 11, preferably in the form of a battery. To control the function of the circuit 10, an operating part 12 is connected to said circuit 10 which in turn operates a loudspeaker means 13.

The digital part 16 of the integrated circuit 10 has a control part connected to said operating part 12, a memory, and preferably a random generator for random generation of noise, especially so-called random noise. The analog part 17 has an amplifier and suitable filters for operating the subsequent unit 13 which produces sound of a suitable character within the audible range, but which may also generate sound outside this range, such as high-frequency noise. The unit 13 normally comprises a microloudspeaker and therefore is termed loudspeaker in the subsequent description and in the claims. However, it will be appreciated that also other sound generating means are conceivable in the context, for example such means as are used in earphones. The current supply unit 11 may comprise, in addition to a battery, a rectifier unit connectible to the mains. The operating part 12 has a switch for switching the aid on or off, as well as means for controlling the sound volume, for program selection etc.

The aid according to the present invention may be designed in many different ways. An especially advantageous embodiment is shown in Fig. 2 where all of the parts 10-13 have been combined into a unit of such a shape that it can be inserted in the auditory meatus 18 of the ear. The loudspeaker means 13 is mounted at the inner end of the unit adjacent the tympanic membrane 19, the operating part 12 at the outermost end, and the two remaining parts 10, 11 therebetween.

The operating part 12 may be provided in its outwardly facing surface with a readily accessible and manually operable means for switching the aid on and off. For switching-off, a timer may be mounted in the unit, but it is preferred to sense the user's state, of wakefulness so that the aid is switched off as soon as the user has fallen asleep. To this end, a separate sensor 14 may be connected to the main part 15 of the operating part 12. The transducer may be in the form of a separate switch which the user holds with his thumb and index finger and which main¬ tains the activated state of the aid as long as the user is applying pressure to the switch, but which disconnects the aid when the pressure ceases because the user has fallen asleep. A more sophisticated so¬ lution is to provide a sensor 14 which senses the brain activity and controls the operating part accord¬ ingly. The requisite means for this operation are also commercially available.

Making the aid according to the invention in one piece, in accordance with Fig. 2, is practical because no wires are required. It may occur, however, that some persons do not wish to have or cannot have in the auditory meatus a means of this size, and then it is of course possible merely to insert the loud¬ speaker means 13 in the outer end of the auditory meatus, for example as this is done with the small earphones commercially available, and to connect the parts 10, 11 and 12 of the aid by means of a thin wire, in which case these parts may be placed on the bedside table in a separate box and have readily ac¬ cessible controls for switching-on and sound control, while switching-off is carried out in the manner men¬ tioned above. If one wishes to avoid the wire, the outer part of the aid can be provided with a trans¬ mitter -20 transmitting the sound on a suitable frequency to a receiver 21 tuned to the said frequency and con¬ nected to the loudspeaker means in the auditory meatus. Naturally, the aid may be divided also in some other way, for example by placing the loudspeaker means 13 and the circuit 10 in the auditory meatus 18.

It is, of course, also possible to design the aid in the form of an earphone which is placed over or encompasses the ear, or in the form of an apparatus box with loudspeaker, positioned adjacent the bed and the head of the user. However, these solutions are normally somewhat inferior to those mentioned above because in the first case the user himself may be disturbed by the earphone after he has fallen asleep, and in the other case other people may be disturbed. Nevertheless, a person who lives alone may prefer the last-mentioned design.

The sound generated by the integrated circuit 10 may vary within wide limits, as has been mentioned by way of introduction. In actual practice, the pro¬ spective user may choose between different sounds at the medical center or the shop where the aid is sold. In its simplest form, the circuit 10 may generate a single selected sound pattern, while in a more expensive design it can produce several sound patterns such that the user can alter the sound pattern by means of a switch. Sound above or below the limit of audition, noise etc. may be used alternately with or superimposed on the first-mentioned sound patterns.

The present invention provides a sleep and relaxa¬ tion promoting aid which is superior to conventional soporifics in that it is efficient and inexpensive, has no side effects, and is not unfavourably habit- forming.

Claims

0CLAIMS

1. A sleep and relaxation promoting aid, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i s e d in that it consists of integrated circuit means (10) connected to a current supply unit (11) and having a sound- generating member (17) and a member (16), connected to an oper- ^• ating means (12), for controlling the frequency, amplitude and pattern of the sound, as well as a loudspeaker means (13), at least the latter being insertable in the auditory meatus (18) or placeable in direct conjunction with the ear.

2. An aid as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said loudspeaker means (13) is connected to the reiraining aid by means of a wire.

3. An aid as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said loudspeaker means (13) is integrated with a recei¬ ver part (21) and connected to the remaining aid by means of a transmitter part (20) tuned to said receiver part (21).

4. An aid as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i s e d in that said operating means (12) is controllable by the user by pressure application, for example by means of a mem¬ ber (14) held between the user's thumb and index finger.

5. An aid as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i s e d in that said operating means (12) is controllable by means of a sensor (14) sensing activity changes in an organ of the user's, especially the brain.