Is there value in smartwatch or ring data from consumer devices?

- By Lofta
Is there value in smartwatch or ring data from consumer devices?
About the Article
By Lofta
Article Timeline:

Published:

Updated:

Article Summary:
Sleep trackers might seem like a good way for consumers to keep tabs on their health, but many of these devices leave much to be desired and can even worsen insomnia symptoms.

Newest Articles

Sleep wellness is an increasing topic and practice in the health space and with that has come the introduction of many different sleep tracking devices. With many promises to help with sleep, it's hard to gauge which trackers are best for you and which ones may not work for your needs. 

 

-----

Sleep trackers might seem like a good way for consumers to keep tabs on their health, but many of these devices leave much to be desired and can even worsen insomnia symptoms.

Also, since these devices are continuously updated and often change, it can be difficult for third-party scientists to measure how effective they are, explains Colleen Lance, MD, a physician at the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in Ohio.

At the same time, the commercial market is saturated with technologies that claim to collect sleep measurements despite a lack of independent evaluations.

“It is a bit of the ‘Wild West’ when you see what is being released,” says Lance. “And by the time you could potentially run a medical validation study, they have already moved on to two or three other platforms and the original one isn’t even available for purchase anymore.”

Still, given that an estimated 10% of adults in the United States regularly use a wearable sleep tracker and 50% would consider purchasing one1, some researchers are trying to understand the usefulness of these devices and answer important questions about how well they work. A team of neuroscientists at West Virginia University (WVU) recently put the devices to the test.

Read the rest of the article here.

-----


At Lofta, we are proud to partner and use the Itamar WatchPAT ONE fully disposable home sleep test. The WatchPAT ONE has been clinically proven to detect all types of apnea events including sleep efficiency, sleep latency and REM latency. It also provides the added value of detecting REM related sleep apnea with REM and non-REM AHI. 

Learn more about the WatchPAT ONE and Loftas' At Home Sleep Test today!

Topics: Discover related articles based on related topics seen in this article...