The arrival of EEG-based headband wearables (current ones include Dreem, Sleepshepherd, and Smartsleep) on the marketplace is a first step (on what is probably still a long road) in the development of comfortable and reliable EEG systems which could be used to record the neural dynamics of sleep across the whole head to create consumer-driven large-scale datasets across different individuals and populations.īut for the moment, the current aim of recently launched EEG headbands such as the Philips Smartsleep, which was unveiled at CES earlier this year, is not to just record and provide feedback on your sleep, but also to improve it. To truly explore and understand sleep in all its complexity, as opposed to just measuring it, you have to use EEG to record a more detailed picture of what is going inside the brain. The sleeping brain displays a rich pattern of continually shifting neural dynamics whose specific function in cognitive and emotional health are yet unexplored. The traditional divisions of sleep stages based on EEG have been challenged by new studies and there is yet no clarity what really constitutes a good night’s sleep. In terms of tracking sleep, particularly for those with sleep issues, the big challenge is that there is yet no clear understanding or gold standard for what to measure against. However, any further interpretation would be overreaching. Essentially these devices can give you a good view of gross aspects of your sleep-wake cycles. Nonethless, the general results of these studies suggest that overall time in bed is pretty accurately estimated by these devices, but on the other hand detection of nighttime wakings was fairly inaccurate. These studies are surprisingly small scale (13 to 25 people) and cover just one night of activity and some included very selective and odd presentation of statistics. Some of these include this recent evaluation of two clinical-grade actiwatches – the GT3X+ and Actiwatch Spectrum as well as an evaluations of the commercial Jawbone UP device with adults and adolescents. There are a growing number of studies that attempt to independently validate their accuracy against multi-parametric polysomnography (PSG) measures which include EEG, EOG (eye movements), EMG (muscle activity) and ECG (heart rhythm). Wearables such as Fitbit, Jawbone (which is now going out of business) and Polar generally sense movement and use these movement patterns (actigraphs) to predict night wakings and stages of sleep. PHILIPS SMARTSLEEP VS DREEM 2 SOFTWAREImproved algorithms, the launch of a Sleep Technology Council by the National Sleep Foundation and an increased availability of high resolution raw data from software platforms such as Fitbit’s Fitabase all help to connect the dots between wearable manufacturers and clinical scientists. And although the majority of these technologies claim that they are not intended for scientific or medical purposes, the gap between them and clinical-grade devices, is rapidly closing. The ability to track an array of physiological, sleep and activity metrics 24 hours a day, 356 days a year, offers the opportunity to combat bad habits, improve health and obtain a level of physical enlightenment beyond our own self report and guesstimation.įrom a research perspective these relatively low-cost technologies offer an unprecedented window into the health and sleep behavior of millions of individuals. Wearable technology is fast becoming the new norm. How accurate are they and what can they really tell you? Most measure sleep based on movement, although new EEG based sleep headbands are hitting the market. Wearable sleep trackers have become ubiquitous.
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