A new Apple patent application published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) sheds light on the Cupertino company’s ongoing work related to introducing automatically adjusting iPhone alarms that can help people get a full night’s sleep (via AppleInsider).
Titled “Adjusting alarms based on sleep onset latency”, the patent details how an iPhone or an Apple Watch can detect a user’s sleep patterns and automatically change when the alarm sounds in the morning to wake them up by determining the exact time the person falls asleep.
Apple notes that the device can detect sleep signals from biometric data, sounds, and other elements, as well as activities the user performs in routine before going to bed.
The term “sleep onset latency” is referred to by Apple as the “amount of time it takes for the user to fall asleep after the user attempts to go to sleep.” By determining when the user sleeps, this can be used to perform a number of functions to make it easier for the user to actually get their full night’s sleep.
Knowing the time it takes to sleep could allow the user to be alerted to go to sleep at an earlier time to get their ideal bedrest period and still wake up at the desired time in the morning, with the latency helping inform when this early sleep notification is delivered.
The patent was originally filed by Apple on July 18, 2018, and identifies prominent sleep researcher Dr. Roy J.E.M. Raymann as one of its inventors.
