Spending a night in a sleep lab, with dozens of wires attached to your body, is not exactly the most comfortable. Yet that is what thousands of people have to endure every year to get a diagnosis of disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia or bruxism. But what if there was a simpler and more discreet way to monitor your sleep, right at home? This is the challenge taken up by a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge, who have developed a pair of pyjamas that can record sleep parameters thanks to innovative graphene sensors. A wearable technology that will make night-time monitoring more accessible, precise and comfortable.
From Polysomnography to Smart Pajamas
To date, the gold standard for diagnosing sleep disorders has been the polysomnography. Do you know what it is? It is a test that requires the patient to spend one or more nights in a specialized laboratory, connected to a series of electrodes that record brain activity, eye movements, heart rate and muscle activity. An effective but invasive procedure, which in addition to being expensive and impractical It can affect the quality of sleep itself, given the unfamiliar environment and the inconvenience of the sensors.
The at-home alternative is portable sleep tracking devices, but they often only focus on specific conditions like sleep apnea. Smartwatches and dedicated wristbands offer more convenience, but tend to collect less comprehensive and accurate data than other options. That's where Cambridge's smart pajamas come in.
Graphene Sensors: Thin as a Feather, Precise as a Watch
The secret of this sophisticated nightwear lies in the collar, which is printed with a network of deformation sensors made of graphene. This high-tech material, made from a single layer of carbon atoms, combines extraordinary resistance, flexibility and electrical conductivity. Ideal characteristics for creating sensors that are imperceptible on the skin but capable of detecting even the smallest muscle vibrations.
In particular, the sensors of the smart pajamas They focus on the extrinsic muscles of the larynx, which capture and transmit the subtle vibrations coming from the neck soft palate, oropharynx, tongue ed epiglottis. Signals that are imperceptible to the naked eye, but which tell in detail what happens in the upper airways during sleep.
SleepNet, an artificial intelligence to decipher sleep signals
The data collected by the sensors is sent wirelessly to a nearby device, such as a smartphone, where a machine learning-based software called SleepNet analyzes them. This algorithm, properly trained, is able to recognize and classify with precision six different sleep health states: nasal breathing, oral breathing, snoring, bruxism, central apnea and obstructive apnea.
In a pilot study conducted on seven healthy volunteers and two patients with known apnea, SleepNet demonstrated an accuracy of 98,6% in identifying the various states starting from the pajama data. All this without being “distracted” by the normal movements that are made during the night, and without requiring a collar that is too tight or annoying.
An ally for sleep medicine
“Sleep is so important for health, and reliable monitoring may be key to a preventative approach,” explains Professor Luigi Occhipinti, study coordinator (that I link to you here).
Because this garment can be used at home, rather than in a hospital or clinic, it can alert people to changes in their sleep patterns to discuss with their doctor.
A high-tech diagnostic pajama could be a valuable tool not only for patients, but also for doctors, who will be able to obtain a more complete and representative picture of nighttime habits, based on repeated measurements in a natural context. Fundamental information for an accurate diagnosis and personalized treatment.
The future of sleep is sewn into our pajamas
The innovative smart pajamas developed in Cambridge open up promising scenarios for the future of sleep medicine. The prospect of a comfortable and highly informative home monitoring could encourage many more people to keep track of their nighttime health, favoring early diagnosis and targeted interventions.
But the potential applications go beyond the clinic. One can imagine a next generation of smart pajamas that, in addition to recording sleep parameters, are able to interact with the surrounding environment. Pajamas that will “talk” to the rest of the house letting them know how we are, and the house will adjust the lights, temperature and humidity of the room to always create the optimal conditions for a restful sleep. Or gently waking us up at the ideal time in the sleep cycle.
Of course, there is still a long way to go. Further studies on larger samples (seven is still a tiny sample) will be needed to validate and refine the technology. And there will be challenges on the privacy and data protection front, given the sensitive nature of the information collected. But one thing is certain: the future of sleep has never been so smart. And it promises to revolutionize the way we sleep and take care of our health.
All thanks to a simple pair of pajamas, which could soon become our best ally for restful nights and awakenings full of energy.
