Wearable Technology as a Tool for Sleep-Wake Estimation in Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence

Abstract

Diagnosing patients with central disorders of hypersomnolence (CDH) can be challenging. The emergence of wearable technology, such as actigraphy and consumer sleep trackers (CSTs), allows for objective characterization of habitual sleep-wake behavior, which can greatly assist the CDH diagnostic process. This review considers the current role and utility of wearable technology as a tool to estimate sleep-wake behavior in CDH. Actigraphy is recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) as a diagnostic tool in CDH and has been widely employed in field-based investigations, yet insufficient guidelines have been provided to optimize data collection and analysis. Due to several factors, the AASM does not currently recognize CSTs as a viable diagnostic tool. However, CSTs have demonstrated promising capabilities that may lead to future clinical and research utility in CDH. Actigraphy has an important role for sleep-wake assessment in CDH, but analytic standardization is a key barrier to their use. At present, CSTs are considered experimental, but their unique capabilities suggest they may one day be developed into a powerful tool in the assessment of these disorders.