Why Sleep Trackers Are Not The Key To Better Rest, At Least Not Yet
One gadget has been a hit in the sleep industry for years: the sleep tracker. Available in many forms, including tech pads and smartphone apps as well as headbands, these devices can monitor sleep patterns and provide feedback to help improve them. These devices have been popularized recently, but the question is: How effective are they?
The answer will vary depending on who you ask. Research suggests that certain sleep trackers may be helpful in understanding patterns of wakefulness and preference for positions. Other studies show that this technology still has a lot to learn before it can help optimize sleep.
We covered a Rush University report that examined the impact of sleep trackers on patients’ slumber. It was published in May. They discovered that the gadgets were not actually improving their patients’ sleep.
Kelly Baron, the report author, explained to me via email that the study was not about effectiveness per se but about how people used and misused their devices.
She said that we were seeing more patients bring in data from sleep trackers of consumer grade. This was despite having a lot of misinformation. It seemed that data from consumer grade sleep trackers could sometimes worsen the condition of insomnia sufferers than it would help them understand their sleep patterns.
Dr. Baron said that her patients were obsessed with making sure their sleep data was perfect. This led to stress and restlessness at nights.The next day, data showed that their sleep patterns were not solid. This would set off a vicious cycle of poor sleeping habits..
She said that the biggest problem with these sleep trackers is their inability to accurately measure it. My patients are always advised to take the data with caution. People often misinterpret periods of restlessness as wakefulness, but it could also be sleep.
Trackers are not able to distinguish between light and deep sleep at this time, so there is no evidence.
It’s just a rough estimation of what goes on at night.
Jason Hong, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, offered me a more positive view on sleep trackers when he spoke with me about this piece about a non-contact smartphone tracker..He believes the question isn’t about whether or not the sleep trackers are effective, but rather about how they lack nuance in their analysis.
He explained that this is the most difficult part of machine learning. We don’t know what the sensor data is measuring, or why it is working. It just sometimes correlates with what people experience in the night. There are times when the algorithm says that a person slept well, but we know that a human would never do this, so it feels off.
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However, he did his own research into whether a non-contact tracker could work. He acknowledged however that it wasn’t yet available.
We wanted to initially see how much data we could gather on sleep without changing anyone’s behavior. We were able to show that people could create a working smartphone monitor for their sleep.
To TRACK Or Not To TRACK? THAT IS THE QUESTION
Although Hong and Baron made it clear that they aren’t convinced of the effectiveness sleep trackers, both seemed to be at least intrigued by them.
Baron said that while I love technology, it is not my intention to discredit it. He believes that some people can use a device to track their sleep patterns and may find this useful. These trackers are not validated for any therapeutic purposes. These trackers can be used for entertainment and self-discovery.
It is obvious that sleep trackers will not magically cure your poor slumber.. Wearing the most popular tracker won’t make your insomnia go away. Neither will being able score an ideal eight-hour sleep score on a smartphone app. While these devices may be able show you some interesting information about your sleep, if you don’t put it into practice and make some changes, you wont see any improvements.
Hong said that it is difficult to change sleep patterns that cause disruptions with a smartphone. However, Hong said that if the smartphone could be used to understand these behaviors better, we might see improvement.
WHAT CHANGES CAN I MAKE?
Establishing a consistent sleeping routine is the best way to make changes. You might try a natural sleep aid or do some yoga poses before you go to bed. Research shows that avoiding TV and smartphones before you fall asleep is a great way to get some shut-eye.
It is important not to place too much faith in any single fix.
Baron said in our conversation that it was about listening to what you feel and moving from there.
