Adventures in Sleep.

By Josh Reighley on January 27, 2006 2:34 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

When you work off shifts, It is only a matter of time before you get obsessed with Sleep. An obsessed Reighley man is pretty dangerous.

Last night I saw this Alarm clock that is coming to market. I also noticed a simular wristwatch. The idea is that these monitor your sleep cycles, and wake you at a time that you are ready to wake up. Typically, you go through several sleep cycles during a nights sleep. If you wake up at the end of one of these cycles, you feel well rested an rejuvinated. If you are woken up in the middle of the cycle, you feel groggy and tired. If you need to get up by 6, these alarm clocks will wake you up early to prevent you from having to be woken up in the middle of a sleep cycle.

That got me thinking. I wonder how hard it would be to build a computer to monitor my sleep? When I am asleep during the day, my wife is always stressed when she has to wake me up. Running a small business, it is not uncommon for me to have to provide tech support to my customers in the middle of the day. When they call, if I was being monitored, she could know if I was in a state of sleep that it was approprate to wake me from. She could also see how productive my sleep has been, so she could make better descisions about whether she could wake me up.

I see home model EEG (Brainwave monitoring) machines for 1K or so. Sleep labs also use EOG (Eye movement sensors) and EMG (Muscle sensors). I wonder what these alarm clocks are using? I would guess they are using a simpler measurment (Movement? Heartrate? Tempurature?)

I have also considered getting a sensory deprivation tank to rest in. I have used one before and it is definately an interesting experience. Basically you float in 93.5 degree water that has been saturated with epsom salts. The water is exactly skin tempurature, and there is no light, no sound, and no smell. After a few minutes, it is kinda like your brain is floating out in the middle of nothing. Using a float tank is relaxing like nothing else that I have encountered. With my budget, and floorspace, I don't think this is a real option. I also don't know of anyplace to float in Spokane. I had to go to Seattle (a four hour drive) to try it, and it wasn't cheap.

Comments

When you work off shifts, It is only a matter of time before you get obsessed with Sleep. An obsessed Reighley man is pretty dangerous. Last night I saw this Alarm clock that is coming to market. I also noticed a simular wristwatch. The idea is that these monitor your sleep cycles, and wake you at a time that you are ready to wake up. Typically, you go through several sleep cycles during a nights sleep. If you wake up at the end of one of these cycles, you feel well rested an rejuvinated. If you are woken up in the middle of the cycle, you feel groggy and tired. If you need to get up by 6, these alarm clocks will wake you up early to prevent you from having to be woken up in the middle of a sleep cycle. That got me thinking. I wonder how hard it would be to build a computer to monitor my sleep? When I am asleep during the day, my wife is always stressed when she has to wake me up. Running a small business, it is not uncommon for me to have to provide tech support to my customers in the middle of the day. When they call, if I was being monitored, she could know if I was in a state of sleep that it was approprate to wake me from. She could also see how productive my sleep has been, so she could make better descisions about whether she could wake me up. I see home model EEG (Brainwave monitoring) machines for 1K or so. Sleep labs also use EOG (Eye movement sensors) and EMG (Muscle sensors). I wonder what these alarm clocks are using? I would guess they are using a simpler measurment (Movement? Heartrate? Tempurature?) I have also considered getting a sensory deprivation tank to rest in. I have used one before and it is definately an interesting experience. Basically you float in 93.5 degree water that has been saturated with epsom salts. The water is exactly skin tempurature, and there is no light, no sound, and no smell. After a few minutes, it is kinda like your brain is floating out in the middle of nothing. Using a float tank is relaxing like nothing else that I have encountered. With my budget, and floorspace, I don't think this is a real option. I also don't know of anyplace to float in Spokane. I had to go to Seattle (a four hour drive) to try it, and it wasn't cheap.