How accurate is your sleep tracker? Are consumer sleep wearables good enough to used for research and clinical purposes? Join us as we navigate the complex issues surrounding marketing claims, scientific validation, reliability, raw data and why 'black boxes' technology is an impediment to research.

In this first instalment of a 2-part episode, we talk about the rapid improvement that consumer sleep tracker have made in a short amount of time, and how, compared to expensive validated technology like actigraphy, could potentially unleash powerful new ways to advance sleep science.

For Part 2 of the discussion: http://sleepjunkies.com/the-great-sleep-tracker-debate-part-2

Prefer to read? Download the full episode transcript here

Skip to sections:

* 2:48 Introducing Jesse Cook

* 4:43 Discussing the review 'Wearable Sleep Technology in Clinical and Research Settings'

* 6:50 The lack of incentives for rigorous validation of consumer sleep trackers (CST)

* 10:18 CST have great potential but they are 'black boxes'

* 13:29 Actigraphs and the first generation consumer sleep wearables 

* 16:20 Newer generation sleep wearables are getting much more accurate

* 21:52 Is it worth paying $1000 for a clinical actigraph?

* 25:21 Comparing CST measurement techniques to polysomnography 

* 31:32 REM sensitivity of CST has improved from 30% to 60% in only a few years

* 32:40 The problem with detecting sleep from 'motionless wake'

* 37:02 Machine learning - the 'low hanging fruit' to improve accuracy of CST

* 40:09 Challenge for doctors when patients report use consumer sleep trackers

* 41:37 Fitbit, NIH and big data initiatives and future potential

This episode’s guest:

Jesse Cook is a doctoral student within the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the primary mentoring of David Plante, MD, PhD. Previously, he completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Arizona, whereby he assisted in projects directed by Dr Richard Bootzin.

Jesse's research primarily focus on the assessment and treatment of persons with unexplained excessive daytime sleepiness. Additionally, he has published multiple papers evaluating the utility and ability of wearable consumer technologies as a sleep assessor, relative to PSG. You can reach Jesse by email at [email protected]

Resources:

Jesse Cook Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jesse_Cook3

Jesse on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SleepAndSports

Review: Wearable Sleep Technology in Clinical and Research Settings: https://bit.ly/2K4e9MV

Fitbit/NIH research collaboration: https://bit.ly/2RUzsDa

Orthosomnia: http://jcsm.aasm.org/viewabstract.aspx?pid=30955

Philips Actigraphy devices: http://www.actigraphy.com/solutions/actigraphy.html

Sleep tracking guide: http://sleepjunkies.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-sleep-tracking/

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Full transcript:

Jeff Mann: 02:18 Good afternoon. I'm joined here with Jesse Cook. Hi Jesse and thanks for joining us today.