Wearable modular device for facilitation of napping and optimization of post-nap performance

Abstract

Sleep deprivation-induced deficiencies in performance can be associated with high financial and human costs. Napping is an effective countermeasure, but the effects depend on previously accumulated sleep debt and timing, duration and sleep architecture of the naps. Long-term assessment of sleep architecture of nap/sleep episodes could yield an estimate of the accumulated sleep debt and help optimize the napping schedule. Moreover, sensory stimulation coupled with real-time assessment of sleep states could optimize sleep architecture and duration of each nap. With these goals in mind we designed a wearable device, dubbed Nap Cap, which integrates real-time EEG analysis with audio, visual and thermal stimulation. The prototype was evaluated on seven subjects (fully rested vs. sleep-deprived). While the prototype provided high quality EEG and comfort, sensory stimulation did not significantly influence sleep architecture. Evaluation of more paradigms of sensory stimulation on larger samples is warranted before final conclusions can be made. © 2009 Springer.