Assessing the Efficacy to Conduct the Multiple Sleep Latency Test With Actigraphy

Abstract

This study explored the efficacy of 1 actigraphy (ACT) brand, at different analytic settings, for use to administer the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT). Forty-one first-time postpartum mother and father participants were administered the MSLT with concurrent ACT. To identify ACT sleep onset latency (SOL), ACT signals were interpreted with iterations of different “wake threshold value” (WTV) and “immobile minutes for sleep onset” value (IMV) settings. The different iterations of ACT–SOL values were compared to MSLT–SOL values. The WTV settings did not affect ACT–SOL, but the ACT–SOL and MSLT–SOL significantly differed at each ACT–IMV setting. ACT consistently identified SOL too soon; however, future research, along with technological innovation, may identify a viable methodology to conduct an ambulatory MSLT.