Practically Speaking: Behind the Episode: Don’t Attach Your Sleep Tracker to the Ceiling Fan (and Other Helpful Tips from Insomnia Experts)
“Why do I need to fill out a sleep log? My FitBit/Apple Watch/Oura Ring already tells me everything about my sleep.”
Even if you are new to assessing and treating insomnia, you have probably already encountered a patient asking similar questions. A key component – possibly the most important component – of effective treatment is the subjective tracking of sleep using a sleep log or sleep diary. But it seems perfectly reasonable that a patient would prefer to give you the data that is already being collected by their favorite wearable technology. Do we really need the sleep log to provide good treatment?
Listen to the full discussion here: Don’t Attach Your Sleep Tracker to the Ceiling Fan (and Other Helpful Tips from Insomnia Experts)
As an insomnia disorder subject matter expert, I often get asked about the utility of wearable sleep trackers, both when teaching workshops and when providing case consultation. When I’ve been asked these questions in the past, I tended to answer emphatically with all the reasons why patients shouldn’t rely on this technology for treatment purposes. But advances in technology have made me rethink my recommendations.
Consumer wearables that track sleep (typically alongside movement and other fitness markers) are relatively new, with the first device having been released in 2012. Those initial versions were fairly simple and mostly just tracked movement. The algorithms that translated the data into usable information about your health were also simple and subject to inaccuracies. In short, they could not be relied on to make recommendations about health, particularly in individuals with sleep disorders (Montgomery-Downs, 2012).
Of course, 13 years can be a lifetime in technology years. As consumer wearables become more sophisticated and the algorithms used to interpret the data they collect become more useful, “trackers” play an expanding role in health care. On this episode of CDP’s Practical for Your Practice, we’re joined by Dr. Diana Dolan to discuss advances in technology and how to best incorporate wearables (or not) in clinical practice. In addition to broadly discussing pros and cons of consumer wearables in insomnia treatment, we also consider some surprisingly specific questions:
“Should I attach my activity tracker to my ceiling fan?”
“How does my smartwatch track my sleep when I’m not wearing it?”
“Can I trick my tracker by laying perfectly still in bed?”
If you want to know the answers to those questions, tune into Season 6 Episode 2.
Listen to the full discussion here: Don’t Attach Your Sleep Tracker to the Ceiling Fan (and Other Helpful Tips from Insomnia Experts)
REFERENCE
Montgomery-Downs, H.E., Insana, S.P. & Bond, J.A. Movement toward a novel activity monitoring device. Sleep Breath 16, 913–917 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-011-0585-y
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
Carin Lefkowitz, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist and Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Lefkowitz earned her M.A. and Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Widener University, with a concentration in cognitive-behavioral therapy.
“Why do I need to fill out a sleep log? My FitBit/Apple Watch/Oura Ring already tells me everything about my sleep.”
Even if you are new to assessing and treating insomnia, you have probably already encountered a patient asking similar questions. A key component – possibly the most important component – of effective treatment is the subjective tracking of sleep using a sleep log or sleep diary. But it seems perfectly reasonable that a patient would prefer to give you the data that is already being collected by their favorite wearable technology. Do we really need the sleep log to provide good treatment?
Listen to the full discussion here: Don’t Attach Your Sleep Tracker to the Ceiling Fan (and Other Helpful Tips from Insomnia Experts)
As an insomnia disorder subject matter expert, I often get asked about the utility of wearable sleep trackers, both when teaching workshops and when providing case consultation. When I’ve been asked these questions in the past, I tended to answer emphatically with all the reasons why patients shouldn’t rely on this technology for treatment purposes. But advances in technology have made me rethink my recommendations.
Consumer wearables that track sleep (typically alongside movement and other fitness markers) are relatively new, with the first device having been released in 2012. Those initial versions were fairly simple and mostly just tracked movement. The algorithms that translated the data into usable information about your health were also simple and subject to inaccuracies. In short, they could not be relied on to make recommendations about health, particularly in individuals with sleep disorders (Montgomery-Downs, 2012).
Of course, 13 years can be a lifetime in technology years. As consumer wearables become more sophisticated and the algorithms used to interpret the data they collect become more useful, “trackers” play an expanding role in health care. On this episode of CDP’s Practical for Your Practice, we’re joined by Dr. Diana Dolan to discuss advances in technology and how to best incorporate wearables (or not) in clinical practice. In addition to broadly discussing pros and cons of consumer wearables in insomnia treatment, we also consider some surprisingly specific questions:
“Should I attach my activity tracker to my ceiling fan?”
“How does my smartwatch track my sleep when I’m not wearing it?”
“Can I trick my tracker by laying perfectly still in bed?”
If you want to know the answers to those questions, tune into Season 6 Episode 2.
Listen to the full discussion here: Don’t Attach Your Sleep Tracker to the Ceiling Fan (and Other Helpful Tips from Insomnia Experts)
REFERENCE
Montgomery-Downs, H.E., Insana, S.P. & Bond, J.A. Movement toward a novel activity monitoring device. Sleep Breath 16, 913–917 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-011-0585-y
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
Carin Lefkowitz, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist and Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Lefkowitz earned her M.A. and Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Widener University, with a concentration in cognitive-behavioral therapy.