Clinical Study Shows Gain of 50 Minutes of Deep Sleep when Using TouchPoints

SUMMARY

The aim of this study is to assess the therapeutic effect of TouchPoints on sleep architecture. Preliminary polysomnography data comparing sleep architecture after the application of TouchPoints against baseline showed a gain of 50 minutes of deep (stage 3 - slow wave) sleep within the first week of using the device, along with gains in total sleep time and sleep efficiency and a reduction in sleep latency.

METHODOLOGY

Three subjects were enrolled in this 4-week study: 1 male between 40-50 years of age, 1 female between 35-45 years of age, and 1 child between 9-12 years of age. Baseline polysomnography data were acquired for each subject initially (control period – week 1) and then after applying TouchPoints™ for 30 minutes after going to sleep (experimental period – weeks 2-3). Finally, polysomnography data were acquired for a final week in each subject without applying TouchPoints (washout period – week 4). Nightly polysomnography for each subject consisted of 6-channel EEG, snoring analytics, photoplethysmography (PPG), 3D accelerometry, and pulse oximetry. From this data, a sleep stage (e.g., stage 0, stage 1, stage 2, a stage 3, stage REM, stage MT) was determined for each 30-second epoch along with overall sleep efficiency (defined as the percent of time in bed spent asleep), sleep latency (time it takes to fall asleep), and the % slow wave sleep (defined as the percent of sleep time spent in stage 3). These frequency of each sleep stage and overall sleep metrics were compared before (control) versus after (experimental) applying TouchPoints to assess the therapeutic effect of TouchPoints on sleep architecture.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

The frequency of each sleep stage and overall sleep metrics for the baseline period and after applying TouchPoints™, as well as the difference between them, were calculated from the polysomnography data. Figure 1 shows the average sleep metrics per night before and after applying TouchPoints as a fraction of the total sleep time for a single subject. Figure 2 shows the percentage change after applying TouchPoints. Note that applying TouchPoints is correlated in this subject with a 6% - or 50 minute - increase in the amount of slow wave sleep (stage 3 sleep) and a 3% increase in sleep efficiency. There is also a 2% reduction in sleep latency and a 4% reduction in stage 0 (or wakefulness).

CONCLUSION

These preliminary results show a correlation between TouchPoints and more deep (stage 3 - slow-wave) sleep. In addition, there was greater sleep efficiency, and reduced sleep latency. This may suggest a therapeutic role for TouchPoints in improving sleep quality.