Abstract
Aim: Smartphone technology is increasingly used by the public to assess sleep. Specific features of some sleep-tracking applications are comparable to actigraphy in objectively monitoring sleep. The clinical utility of smartphone apps should be investigated further to increase access to convenient means of monitoring sleep. Methods: Smartphone and subjective sleep measures were administered to 29 community-dwelling healthy adults [aged 20-67, Mean (M) = 26.8; 18 women, 11 men], and actigraphy to 19 of them. Total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency were measured with actigraphy and the Sleep Time app (Azumio Inc.). Sleep diaries captured subjective TST and sleep efficiency, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index provided self-report data. An exit questionnaire was administered to examine app feasibility and likelihood of future use. Results: The app significantly overestimated TST when compared to actigraphy. There was no significant difference in sleep efficiency between methodologies. There was also no significant difference between TST recorded through the app and through sleep diaries. Participants’ self-reported ease of use of the smartphone app positively correlated with likelihood of future use. Conclusions: Based on the current findings, future research is needed to investigate the utility and feasibility of multiple smartphone applications in monitoring sleep in healthy and clinical populations.
Highlights
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (2012) states that sleep duration and sleep quality protect and improve physical and mental health, safety, and overall quality of life [1]
There was no significant difference between Total sleep time (TST) recorded by the App (M = 451.6, standard deviation (SD) = 70.07) and TST recorded in the sleep diaries (M = 441.9, SD = 75.67); it is notable that this could be a result of participants recording App data into their sleep diaries each day, despite being instructed not to
This study investigated the utility of a popular smartphone application, Sleep Time, in monitoring sleep in healthy adults by comparing it to sleep monitored through actigraphy technology
Summary
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (2012) states that sleep duration and sleep quality protect and improve physical and mental health, safety, and overall quality of life [1]. Deleterious health outcomes such as diabetes and obesity are associated with sleep quality and duration [4]. Difficulty with emotion regulation and exacerbation of depression and anxiety can result from inadequate sleep and lack of self-monitoring [5, 10,11,12], reducing quality of life [13]
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