Patent Application
20190380862
According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, 90 million Americans suffer from snoring activity during sleep, and about half of them may have a serious sleep disorder called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
Snoring can be reduced by avoiding the supine sleep position, and The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine indicates that the incidence and dangers of OSA can also be reduced by avoiding the “supine” (i.e.: lying on the back) sleep position.
Common treatments for OSA include facial masks, breathing devices, dental appliances, nerve stimulators, inconvenient and uncomfortable and often ineffective pillows, blocks of foam, vests with tennis balls or air bags and other devices and techniques that focus on the patient's head and/or back. All of these approaches are cumbersome, uncomfortable and many are inconvenient for travel.
In addition, the American Pregnancy Association recommends that the best sleep position during pregnancy is “SOS” (sleep on side), preferably the left side, which will increase the amount of blood and nutrients that reach the placenta. A 2017 study, published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG) confirmed findings from smaller studies in New Zealand and Australia that the side sleep position during the third trimester substantially reduces the incidence of stillbirths.
Therefore, what is instead desired is a comfortable, inexpensive and easy to use system to keep a sleeper from rolling over onto their back and thus treat snoring and OSA. Ideally, such a system would also treat REM Sleep Behavior Disorder as well using this same approach. In addition, such a system would also be beneficial for pregnant women as it is safest for pregnant women to sleep on their (preferably left) side. Ideally, such a system would be easy to travel with and take up little space.
The present supine sleep prevention wellness device is designed to enable the user to sleep comfortably on his or her side without rolling over onto their back during the night. The present system uses a band of elastic material to maintain tension on the sleeper's wrist (of the upwardly facing arm when the sleeper is sleeping on their side). Should the sleeper start to roll over onto their back, the added tension on the upwardly facing arm will make this movement uncomfortable. As such, the sleeper will instead adopt the more comfortable position of continuing to sleep on their side. The present system is based on patient ergonomics and physiology—specifically, it is difficult if not impossible to turn one's body 90 degrees (from side to back) if the sleeper's higher arm is constrained. (A person could conceivably rotate to a supine position by rotating 270 degrees in the other direction, but the present system would make this very difficult as well). As a result, the present system's elasticity, it's attachment to the wrist and anchoring and adjustment features make it a novel and useful apparatus. By gently restricting the range of motion of the sleeper's arm, the present system is comfortable, and not too confining. As such, it does not wake the sleeper to reposition him or her. This provides the benefit of a sound night's sleep.
By constraining arm and body motions, the present system may also help reduce the dangers of REM Sleep Behavior Disorder, a medically diagnosed condition in which the muscles are not fully paralyzed during sleep, so patients physically act out some of their dreams, often endangering themselves and/or their bedmates.
The present supine sleep prevention wellness device is designed to assure that the user sleeps on his or her side throughout the complete sleep cycle. In preferred embodiments, the system comprises a padded wrist (or arm) cuff that can have a diameter that is adjustable using hook and loop fastener materials (e.g.: Velcro®). Specifically, the user simply inserts his or her wrist into the cuff and adjusts the sizing of the cuff with a Velcro® strap. An elastic tube or band is connected to this cuff to provide tension on the upwardly facing arm (and thereby to prevent the user from rolling onto his or her back).
In one preferred aspect, the length of elastic material (which can be a tube or band or strap, etc.) can be looped back on itself and clamped to form an end loop. This elastic end loop can then be looped around a stationary object (e.g.: a night table or bed leg) and clamped back on itself to apply tension to the upwardly facing arm. In another preferred aspect, an end strap is attached to the elastic material to form an end loop, wherein the sizing of the end loop can be adjusted by passing an end of the strap back through a buckle. As such, the length of elastic material can be attached to a flat belt or strap and threaded through a buckle to adjust and secure its length.
In preferred embodiments, the elastic tubing comes in a kit with light, medium and heavy tension versions based on the arm strength of the user. The user then chooses the tension band/tube that is most appropriate for his or her own personal use. Preferably, the elastic tubing is composed of latex or synthetic rubber for users with latex allergies. In preferred methods of treatment, the present system pulls on the user's wrist at an angle of 45 to 135 degrees from the side of the bed. Preferably, for maximum effectiveness, the elastic tubing may pull in a direction perpendicular to the side of the bed.
The present wellness device system is comfortable and not confining unless the user attempts to move from the side position. Resistance increases the further the tubing is stretched, so, unlike current straps and belts, users have some mobility to enable falling asleep without feeling constrained. However, sufficient resistance is provided to enable the user to reach the supine position without sufficient tension on the arm to awaken them or make the motion impossible. Yet another advantage of the present system is that it is very easy to get out of in an emergency. In contrast, many existing systems hold sleepers so securely in one position that they become a safety hazard. Also, users often wake during the night to go to the bathroom. It is therefore advantageous to have a system like the present invention which can easily be removed and re-attached to the user (even in the dark).
In a first preferred embodiment as seen in
Alternatively, as seen in
In operation, cuff 30 is positioned around the wrist of the user's upwardly-facing arm (i.e. with the user resting in a non-supine side-laying position. Preferably, cuff 30 is a padded wrist cuff that has a diameter that is adjustable by the user (to accommodate different users having different wrist sizes). Preferably, cuff 30 is open and closed and adjusted in size by using hook and loop (e.g.: Velcro®) fasteners.
As seen in
Preferred method steps also include adjusting the length of the loop 23 of elastic material 20 to thereby adjust the tension on cuff 30 (for example by removing and repositioning a clamp 40 on the band of elastic material 20, or by threading a different length of elastic material through buckle 50). In optional embodiments, the user selects the band of elastic material from a set of different exercise bands or tubes having different tension strengths.
In operation, achieving a desired amount of tension is beneficial since this helps the user fall asleep without feeling constrained, yet also prevents sufficient tension to prevent the user from rotating onto their back when cuff 30 is on their wrist or arm.
As seen in
Alternatively, as seen in
Optionally, end 22 may be connected to an adjustable strap 93 that is provided to adjust the tension pulling on cuff 30 when it is put onto the wrist or arm of the user's upwardly facing arm. Moreover, the weight of the mattress and user would provide additional assurance that the two hook and loop fastener surfaces would not separate from one another, yet the system can be removed with minimal damage.
Finally, in the alternative mechanism of
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Ser. No. 62/684,941, of same title, filed Jun. 14, 2018, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62684941 | Jun 2018 | US |
