If you’ve ever had to endure a sleep study, you know it’s hardly the easiest way to catch some z’s.
Now, researchers may have developed the solution: comfortable, washable “smart pajamas” that can monitor sleep disorders at home — no sticky patches, no bulky equipment and no clinic visits required.
“Poor sleep has huge effects on our physical and mental health, which is why proper sleep monitoring is vital,” said Luigi Occhipinti, a professor at the University of Cambridge who led the research. “However, the current gold standard for sleep monitoring, polysomnography or PSG, is expensive, complicated and isn’t suitable for long-term use at home.”
While home devices like sleep tests are simpler than PSG, Occhipinti said they often focus on just one condition and can be bulky or uncomfortable.
Wearable devices, like smartwatches, are more convenient but only guess at your sleep quality, making them ineffective for monitoring sleep disorders.
“We need something that is comfortable and easy to use every night, but is accurate enough to provide meaningful information about sleep quality,” Occhipinti said.
To develop the “smart pajamas,” Occhipinti and his team built on their earlier work with a smart choker designed for people with speech impairments. They re-engineered fabric sensors to detect tiny skin movements, enabling them to monitor breathing — even when the pajamas are worn loosely around the neck and chest.
They also created a machine learning model, called SleepNet, that uses the signals captured by the sensors to identify six different sleep states: nasal breathing, mouth breathing, snoring, teeth grinding, central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea.
The pajamas were tested on both healthy individuals and those with sleep apnea, detecting sleep states with an impressive 98.6% accuracy.
A special starching process improves the durability of the sensors, so they can be tossed into the washing machine without losing their effectiveness.
The latest version also features wireless data transfer, so sleep information can be securely sent to your smartphone or computer.
“Sleep is so important to health, and reliable sleep monitoring can be key in preventative care,” said Occhipinti. “Since this garment can be used at home, rather than in a hospital or clinic, it can alert users to changes in their sleep that they can then discuss with their doctor.”
The researchers are now looking to expand their sensors for use with other health conditions or even for baby monitoring. They’re also working on making the sensors durable enough for long-term use.
The true cost of sleep deprivation
Sleep is vital for your health, but over a third of US adults report getting less than the recommended seven hours of shut-eye each night.
In the short term, lack of sleep affects mood, judgment and memory — and can increase your risk of accidents and injury. The economic toll is just as serious, with sleep deprivation linked to a staggering $44 billion in lost productivity each year.
Long-term, insufficient sleep can have far-reaching effects on your health. Chronic sleep deprivation increases your chances of developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
It also accelerates brain aging and potentially raises the risk for dementia. Mental health suffers too, with sleep-deprived individuals more likely to struggle with anxiety and depression.
When you’re not getting enough sleep, your immune system also takes a hit, making you more susceptible to illness. In fact, research suggests that those who sleep less than seven hours a night are three times more likely to catch the common cold.
And if you’re struggling to shed those extra pounds, sleep deprivation could be the hidden culprit. Getting less than five hours of sleep a night is linked to a 50% higher risk of obesity, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The reason? Sleep deprivation disrupts the balance of the hormones that regulate appetite, leading to heightened feelings of hunger and stronger cravings for high-calorie, fatty and sweet foods.
