Abstract
BackgroundAdolescence is an important life stage for the development of healthy behaviors, which have a long-lasting impact on health across the lifespan. Sleep undergoes significant changes during adolescence and is linked to physical and psychiatric health; however, sleep is rarely assessed in routine health care settings. Wearable sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) devices may represent user-friendly methods for assessing sleep among adolescents, but no studies to date have examined the feasibility and acceptability of sleep EEG wearables in this age group.ObjectiveThe goal of the research was to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of sleep EEG wearable devices among adolescents aged 11 to 17 years.MethodsA total of 104 adolescents aged 11 to 17 years participated in 7 days of at-home sleep recording using a self-administered wearable sleep EEG device (Zmachine Insight+, General Sleep Corporation) as well as a wristworn actigraph. Feasibility was assessed as the number of full nights of successful recording completed by adolescents, and acceptability was measured by the wearable acceptability survey for sleep. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed separately for the sleep EEG device and wristworn actigraph.ResultsA total of 94.2% (98/104) of adolescents successfully recorded at least 1 night of data using the sleep EEG device (mean number of nights 5.42; SD 1.71; median 6, mode 7). A total of 81.6% (84/103) rated the comfort of the device as falling in the comfortable to mildly uncomfortable range while awake. A total of 40.8% (42/103) reported typical sleep while using the device, while 39.8% (41/103) indicated minimal to mild device-related sleep disturbances. A minority (32/104, 30.8%) indicated changes in their sleep position due to device use, and very few (11/103, 10.7%) expressed dissatisfaction with their experience with the device. A similar pattern was observed for the wristworn actigraph device.ConclusionsWearable sleep EEG appears to represent a feasible, acceptable method for sleep assessment among adolescents and may have utility for assessing and treating sleep disturbances at a population level. Future studies with adolescents should evaluate strategies for further improving usability of such devices, assess relationships between sleep EEG–derived metrics and health outcomes, and investigate methods for incorporating data from these devices into emerging digital interventions and applications.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03843762; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03843762
Highlights
Adolescence is a critical period in human development, associated with rapid physical growth, brain and cognitive development, and marked changes in social roles as youth transition from dependent roles within their family of origin to the independence of adulthood
Feasibility was assessed as the number of full nights of successful recording completed by adolescents, and acceptability was measured by the wearable acceptability survey for sleep
A total of 94.2% (98/104) of adolescents successfully recorded at least 1 night of data using the sleep EEG device
Summary
Adolescence is a critical period in human development, associated with rapid physical growth, brain and cognitive development, and marked changes in social roles as youth transition from dependent roles within their family of origin to the independence of adulthood. Sleep is one health behavior that undergoes significant alternations in adolescence, including shifts toward shortened sleep periods, delayed circadian rhythms, and changes in sleep architecture, including reductions in deep sleep (ie, slow wave sleep [SWS]) [2]. Poor sleep during this period is associated with risk for detrimental physical and mental health outcomes such as higher rates of obesity and onset of psychiatric disorders [3], which in turn may place individuals at risk for a range of diseases over the long-term, including cardiometabolic illness and cancer, and result in high rates of health care use and socioeconomic costs [4]. Wearable sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) devices may represent user-friendly methods for assessing sleep among adolescents, but no studies to date have examined the feasibility and acceptability of sleep EEG wearables in this age group
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