Relaxation Systems and Garments for Stress Relief

The present disclosure relates generally to stress and/or anxiety reducing devices or methods, and in particular, to various embodiments of wearable relaxation systems and garments for stress and/or anxiety relief.

With anxiety, depression and related mental health disorders being at unprecedented levels, individuals are seeking various stress management solutions as alternatives too, or otherwise in support of, medical support.

Stress-relieving members allow individuals to manage their stress or anxiety by manipulation of or stimulus by the stress-relieving member. Commonly, stress-relieving members manage stress by allowing individuals to manipulate the object in their hand. Common examples include stress balls, Baoding balls, fidget spinners, fidget devices, and so on. A stress ball is a malleable object that, generally, compresses when squeezed and expands when released. Generally, Baoding balls are held by a user in one hand and rotated while maintaining contact between the Baoding balls. Generally, fidget spinners are held by a user via the fidget spinners central portion while the user spins the exterior lobes. Still, other stress-relieving members may allow an individual to otherwise manipulate, squeeze, or spin individual components. Further, stress-relieving members may act upon the individual to manage stress or anxiety; for example, by providing tactile, visual, or auditory stimulus to users. Other stress-relieving or anxiety reducing options include weighted blankets which, due to their construction, cannot be readily worn without restricting the movement of the wearer.

Unfortunately, individuals may feel uncomfortable or face stigma when openly using stress-relieving members and/or weighted blankets. As such, methods have been developed to allow for discrete stress-relieving member use. One such method involves incorporation of stress-relieving members into garments. Cloud Nine Clothing™ (https://www.cloudnineclothing.ca) discloses sweatshirts and similar garments, where stress balls are permanently and irremovably built-in in the sleeve cuff(s) via stitching. On the weighted blanket side, methods of manufacturing wearable garments comprised of weighted fabrics and/or materials have been suggested (e.g., Thera™ weighted hoodies—https://www.therabrand.co). However, these weighted garments still appear irregular and thus attract unnecessary attention, and possibly stigma, to the wearer.

This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art or forms part of the general common knowledge in the relevant art.

The following presents a simplified summary of the general inventive concept(s) described herein to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is not intended to restrict key or critical elements of embodiments of the disclosure or to delineate their scope beyond that which is explicitly or implicitly described by the following description and claims.

A need exists for a garment capable of discretely containing a stress-relieving member, while providing a means of accessing the stress-relieving member. Such access may be needed for various reasons. For example and without limitation, an individual may wish to wash their garment, but the washing conditions may be incompatible with the stress-relieving member because water saturation or elevated temperatures could deteriorate a stress-relieving member or reduce its malleability, or otherwise impact electrical elements thereof. Stress-relieving members may also require cleaning or sterilization, so the ability to remove a stress-relieving member may be desirable in some embodiments. Stress-relieving members may also be comprised of gel inside a rubber exterior, and gel leakage from this rubber exterior necessitates access to remove the stress-relieving member without damaging the garment. Additionally, stress-relieving members may degrade more quickly than the associated garment, so it may be desirable to replace the stress-relieving member, rather than replacing the entire garment or relaxation system, in some embodiments. Some stress-relieving members may comprise electronics, such as those required to produce soothing heat, vibrations or sounds, that are incompatible with washing. Further, an individual's specific needs may require that they be able to exchange the stress-relieving member, such as exchanging between firmer and softer stress-relieving members, or between larger and smaller stress-relieving members, without limitation. Yet a further need exists for a garment capable of discretely providing wearable weighted pressure for anxiety reduction, optionally where the weighting features are removable for the case of overstimulation and/or overheating. Some aspects of the instant disclosure provide for embodiments of a relaxation system and/or relaxation garments which attempt to address, or at least ameliorate, one or more of the foregoing needs, although not limited thereto.

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a wearable relaxation system to be worn by an individual, comprising: a garment; and a compartment located on the garment. The compartment comprises at least a fabric socket shaped and dimensioned to securely retain therein a stress-relieving member; and an aperture providing access to the fabric socket, through which the stress-relieving member is receivable into the fabric socket. In one embodiment, the wearable relaxation system further comprises the stress-relieving member which is receivable into the fabric socket via the aperture.

In one embodiment, the compartment is formed by an internal fabric layer and an external fabric layer of the garment, the fabric socket formed between the internal fabric layer and the external fabric layer. In one embodiment, the compartment is arranged on an internal surface of the garment. In one embodiment, the compartment is formed by one or more pieces of fabric attached to the internal surface of the garment.

In one embodiment, the compartment comprises a sealing mechanism configured to close and open the aperture. In one embodiment, the sealing mechanism is arranged on an internal surface of the garment such that it is concealed. In one embodiment, the sealing mechanism includes any one or more of: a snap fastener, a press stud, a button, a zipper, a covering, a foldable flap, a hook-and-loop fastener, a hook-and-eye fastener, an elastic, a clasp, a toggle fastener, a buckle, a string, a thread, a latch, a safety pin, or a cover.

In one embodiment, the compartment further comprises an aperture cover configured to at least partially conceal the aperture.

In one embodiment, the wearable relaxation system further comprises an attachment mechanism configured to releasably attach the compartment to the garment.

In one embodiment, the stress-relieving member comprises any one or more of: a malleable member, a stress reliever, a stress ball, a fidget device, a heated stress-relieving device, a cooling stress-relieving device, an audio stress-relieving device, a scented stress-relieving device, a vibrating stress-relieving device, a biometric-obtaining stress-relieving device and a weighted stress-relieving device.

In one embodiment, the garment is configured to be worn on any one or combination of: an individual's upper body, an individual's lower body, an individual's limb, an individual's extremity, an individual's neck, or an individual's head. In one embodiment, the garment is configured to be worn on an individual's upper body, the garment comprising at least one sleeve, with the compartment located on a distal end of the at least one sleeve. In one embodiment, the compartment is located within or proximate a cuff of the at least one sleeve, or within or proximate a seam of the at least one sleeve.

In one embodiment, the relaxation system further comprises an adjustable width mechanism configured to adjust cuff width size or sleeve width size, depending on the presence or absence of the stress-relieving member, or the size of the stress-relieving member.

In one embodiment, the compartment forms a first compartment, and the garment comprises a second compartment located at a position spaced apart from the first compartment, such that the relaxation system accommodates at least two stress-relieving members therein.

In one embodiment, the compartment is arranged on the garment such that when worn, the stress-relieving member is accessible to a hand of the individual to manipulate the stress-relieving member for stress relief.

In one embodiment, the garment is at least partially manufactured of one or more heavyweight materials. In one embodiment, the system further comprises one or more weighted panels which are affixable to an internal surface of said garment.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a garment, comprising: a body portion shaped to at least partially surround a body member of an individual when the garment is worn; an elongate portion connected to the body portion and configured to at least partially surround a limb of the wearer when the garment is worn; and a compartment provided on a distal end of the elongate portion, the compartment having a fabric socket configured to securely retain therein a resilient pliable member; and an aperture providing access to the fabric socket, through which the resilient pliable member is receivable into and removable from the fabric socket.

In one embodiment, the garment further comprises a sealing mechanism configured to close and open the aperture. In one embodiment, the garment is in the form of a long-sleeved sweater with a hood.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a wearable relaxation system, comprising: a garment; a compartment located on the garment, wherein the compartment comprises at least: a fabric socket shaped and dimensioned to securely retain therein a stress-relieving member; and an aperture providing access to the fabric socket, through which the stress-relieving member is receivable into the fabric socket; and a stress-relieving member configured to acquire biometric data from an individual when the garment is worn, the stress-relieving member including a communication interface via which the stress-relieving member communicates the biometric data.

In one embodiment, the communication interface is in the form of a wireless communication interface, through which the biometric data is communicated to a remote device. In one embodiment, the biometric data comprises any one or combination of heart rate, pulse, skin conductance, body temperature, muscle tension, oxygenation levels, breathing patterns, and sleep patterns. In one embodiment, the system further comprises a remote digital data storage having stored thereon implementable instructions which, when executed by a digital data processor, enable the digital data processor to any one or both of: analyze the biometric data to detect one or more predefined stress patterns; and generate an alert based on the biometric data.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a wearable relaxation system, comprising: a garment; a securing mechanism arrangement located on an internal surface of the garment; and one or more weighted panels releasably affixable to the securing mechanism arrangement such that a wearer can affix and/or arrange the one or more weighted panels thereto based on wearer preference. In one embodiment, the securing mechanism arrangement comprises a zipper arrangement for securely affixing the one or more weighted panels to the internal surface of the garment. In one embodiment, the garment comprises a hooded sweatshirt and the securing mechanism arrangement is located to position the one or more weighted panels proximate the shoulders, chest and/or upper back of a wearer. In one embodiment, when the wearable relaxation system is assembled with the one or more weighted panels affixed to the internal surface of the garment, and the wearable relaxation system provides therapeutic weight to the wearer (optionally, mimicking an embrace).

Notably, parts, features and/or functionality of one aspect of the disclosure may form part of another aspect of the disclosure, and vice versa, without limitation. Other aspects, features and/or advantages will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of specific embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Elements in the several figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be emphasized relative to other elements for facilitating understanding of the various presently disclosed embodiments. Also, common, but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in commercially feasible embodiments are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Various implementations and aspects of the specification will be described with reference to details discussed below. The following description and drawings are illustrative of the specification and are not to be construed as limiting the specification. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various implementations of the present specification. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described, in order to provide a concise discussion of implementations of the present specification.

Various apparatuses and processes will be described below to provide examples of implementations of the system disclosed herein. No implementation described below limits any claimed implementation and any claimed implementations may cover processes or apparatuses that differ from those described below. The claimed implementations are not limited to apparatuses or processes having all of the features of any one apparatus or process described below or to features common to multiple or all of the apparatuses or processes described below. It is possible that an apparatus or process described below is not an implementation of any claimed subject matter.

Furthermore, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the implementations described herein. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the relevant arts that the implementations described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the implementations described herein.

In this specification, elements may be described as “configured to” perform one or more functions or “configured for” such functions. In general, an element that is configured to perform or configured for performing a function is enabled to perform the function, or is suitable for performing the function, or is adapted to perform the function, or is operable to perform the function, or is otherwise capable of performing the function.

It is understood that for the purpose of this specification, language of “at least one of X, Y, and Z” and “one or more of X, Y and Z” may be construed as X only, Y only, Z only, or any combination of two or more items X, Y, and Z (e.g., XYZ, XY, YZ, ZZ, and the like). Similar logic may be applied for two or more items in any occurrence of “at least one . . . ” and “one or more . . . ” language.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The phrase “in one embodiment” or “in at least one of the various embodiments” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may. Furthermore, the phrase “in another embodiment” or “in some embodiments” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment, although it may. Thus, as described below, various embodiments may be readily combined, without departing from the scope or spirit of the innovations disclosed herein.

In addition, as used herein, the term “or” is an inclusive “or” operator and is equivalent to the term “and/or,” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “based on” is not exclusive and allows for being based on additional factors not described, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, throughout the specification, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on.”

The term “comprising” as used herein will be understood to mean that the list following is non-exhaustive and may or may not include any other additional suitable items, for example one or more further feature(s), component(s) and/or element(s) as appropriate.

The term “stress”, whether used in the context of a “stress relieving device” or otherwise, will be understood to refer to stress, anxiety, depression, and/or any other mental health disorder or symptoms, without limitation.

The term “sealing”, typically used in the context of a “sealing mechanism” in some embodiments, should be generally understood to refer to a closure or sealing mechanism, which may take on various forms, types, shapes and/or dimensions, but which is not intended to refer specifically to a mechanism which creates a “seal” as such (e.g., preventing things coming apart, or otherwise creating a seal which is watertight, airtight or the like), although it may do. Indeed, various embodiments will be disclosed to provide an indication of the range of sealing or closure mechanisms envisaged.

References to a remote device(s) and/or a processor(s) being operable or configured for certain functionality are generally intended to include reference to the remote device and/or processor including computer-implementable instructions which, when executed, allow the remote device and/or processor to execute the functionality so described, as will be apparent from the context given.

Conventional stress-relieving garments comprise permanently built-in stress-relieving options, typically using sewing or stitching techniques, limiting the customization of the garment and/or restricting available cleaning techniques.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide a relaxation system adapted to be worn by an individual. Generally, in this context, the “relaxation” is intended to include various forms of stress relief and/or anxiety relief. Certain embodiments are specifically directed to garments to be worn by individuals, having one or more compartments configured to receive a stress relieving device.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide for a compartment(s) which is configured to allow the removal of the stress and/or anxiety relieving device, such that the garment can be washed and/or laundered with the stress and/or anxiety device removed therefrom. Providing for the removal of the stress and/or anxiety device from the garment may, in some embodiments, improve the lifetime of the stress and/or anxiety device. In some embodiments, providing for the removal of the stress and/or anxiety device may enable an individual to customize the type of stress and/or anxiety device used between uses. For example, in the case of pliable stress and/or anxiety devices, the individual may swop out a device of high flexibility with a device of high rigidity, to increase the force required to manipulate the device. In other embodiments, providing for the removal of the stress and/or anxiety device may enable an individual to customize other aspects of stress and/or anxiety used, such as to incorporate devices with stress-relieving scents, devices with stress-relieving heating or cooling, or the like. In other embodiments, the removal of the stress and/or anxiety device may improve the hygiene associated with such use, whereby cleaning the device between uses may prevent the buildup of dirt, sweat, and/or bacteria, that can occur with non-removable stress relief features. In further embodiments, the removal of the stress and/or anxiety device may improve the longevity or lifespan of the associated garment, whereby an individual may replace a worn-out or non-functional device without needing to replace the entire garment, improving cost-effectiveness.

In some embodiments, providing for the removal of the stress and/or anxiety device may allow an individual to activate, charge, or otherwise stimulate the stress and/or anxiety device between uses. For example, in one embodiment wherein the stress and/or anxiety device comprises a heating element and is configured to be heated between uses, the configuration of the compartment(s) allows the device to be removable between uses for reheating. To provide a specific non-limiting example, the compartment(s) offering removability allows stress and/or anxiety devices which comprise manually heated stress balls to be used within the garment, such as ones filled with rice which are heatable in a microwave or oven between uses. As another non-limiting example, the compartment(s) offering removability allows stress and/or anxiety devices which comprise electrically heated stress balls to be used within the garment, such as ones which can be electrically heated via electrical connection (e.g., via Universal Serial Bus (USB) charger) between uses (and as noted elsewhere, also allows removal thereof prior to washing to prevent damage to electrical connections, water entering the device or the like).

Embodiments disclosed herein provide various relaxation systems which are configured to provide for the discreet placement of the compartment(s) on the garment. In many embodiments, the access to the compartment(s) is obscured from external view, such that other parties would be unaware of the compartment(s) and/or the presence of the removable stress and/or anxiety device(s) therein.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide various relaxation systems which incorporate various types of garments to be worn by an individual. Furthermore, the location or positioning of the compartment(s) for securely receiving therein the stress-reliever is variable amongst such embodiments, at least in part depending on garment type and the intended use of the stress-reliever member. For example, some compartments may be positioned on the garment in a region readily accessible by one or more hands of the individual when worn.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide various relaxation systems having one or more compartments located at one or more positions on the garments. For example, some embodiments provide for two compartments, each configured to receive and retain or contain therein a stress-relieving member which may be, although need not be, of the same type.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide further for the incorporation of biometric monitoring capabilities into the garment, via the stress-relieving members, thereby to provide a relaxation system with biometric monitoring features. In some embodiments, the stress-relieving member is configured to communicate biometric data acquired from the garment to a remote device or remote data storage, such that the biometric data can be analyzed to generate alerts and/or detect stress patterns based on the biometric data obtained, and optionally based on comparison to one or more stress-related indices or thresholds. In some embodiments, alert or patterns are shared with the individual and/or other individuals to assist with stress and/or anxiety management.

Other embodiments disclosed herein provide further for the removable affixation of one or more weighted panels to an internal surface of a garment, the one or more weighted panels being considered the stress relieving member(s) in such embodiments, so as to provide discreet and/or adjustable weighting options for pressure therapy in the form of a wearable relaxation system.

Embodiments described herein provide different examples of a relaxation system to be worn by an individual, generally comprising a garment and a compartment located on the garment. The compartment generally comprises a fabric socket shaped and dimensioned to securely retain or contain therein a stress-relieving member or object and an aperture providing access to the fabric socket, through which the stress-relieving member is receivable into the fabric socket. Embodiments of the relaxation system generally include a stress-relieving member which is shaped and dimensioned to be received into the fabric socket through the aperture, to allow the individual wearing the garment to engage the stress-relieving member contained in the compartment to reduce the user's stress or anxiety.

With reference to, and in accordance with one exemplary embodiment, a relaxation system (or relaxation garment system), generally referred to using the numeral, will now be described. As shown in, the relaxation systemcomprises a garmentand a compartmentlocated on the garment. In this embodiment, the compartmentcomprises at least a fabric socketshaped and dimensioned to securely retain or contain therein a stress-relieving member, and an apertureproviding access to the fabric socket, through which the stress-relieving memberis receivable into the fabric socket. It is to be appreciated that access to the fabric socketnecessitates using aperture, and that the stress-relieving memberis both inserted and removed from the fabric socketvia aperture.

In the embodiment shown in, the garmentcomprises a sweater with a hood, commonly referred to as a “hoodie”. As is common to such garments, the “hoodie” comprises a body portion shaped and dimensioned to surround a torso of an individual, and two elongate portions (i.e., sleeves) connected to the body portion to surround the arms of the individual, when worn. In this embodiment, the garmentis manufactured or one or more soft, machine-washable materials. For example, the garmentis manufactured of a blend of cotton, polyester and elastane (e.g., Spandex™).

Generally, the compartment(s)is located on the front side of the garment, to be readily accessible to the individual, although it need not be. In this embodiment, the garmentcomprises two compartmentslocated thereon, although other embodiments may comprise one or any number of compartments. Each compartmentis located of a distal end of an elongate portion (i.e., sleeve). More specifically, in this embodiment, each compartmentis located in a sleeve cuff of the garment, as shown. Notably, when the sleeves of the garmentare hanging down in this embodiment, each compartmentis positioned on in internal or body-facing side of each sleeve cuff, such that when worn, the individual is able to close their fingers around each or either stress-relieving memberby bringing their fingers upwards towards their palms. Notwithstanding same, other embodiments employ other positioning and thus other hand gestures and/or bodily gestures will be required to engage the stress-relieving member(s)in use.