Can sleep-related apps be of benefit to the bleary-eyed masses? That's the question explored today by the New York Times' Molly Young, who sought the advice of one of our sleep experts for her story:
Browse the iTunes store or Google Play and you’ll find them by the dozen: offerings with names like SleepBot and eSleep, represented by icons of placid sheep or glowing moons. The offerings fall into two basic categories. One tracks sleep patterns through the smartphone’s accelerometer (the doodad that recognizes when your phone is upside-down), giving users a blueprint of their time in bed. The second promises to lull users to sleep with music, hypnosis or guided meditation.
If you’re the data-driven type, a sleep-tracking app surely appeals. By placing the phone next to you in bed and tapping a button, you record your movements and a sleep chart is created. But according to Dr. Clete Kushida, the medical director of the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center, these apps are hardly precise.
“Without EEG — brain wave activity — it’s very hard to tell different stages of sleep apart,” Dr. Kushida said. “People can stay still and the device will think the person’s asleep.” Still, “the advantage of these devices is that they can help individuals become more aware of a potential sleep problem,” Dr. Kushida said.
Previously: Why physicians should consider patients’ privacy before recommending health, fitness apps, A look at the “Wild West” of medical apps, Designing the next generation of sleep devices, Exploring the effect of sleep loss on health, Turning to an app to help your health and Stanford sleep expert offers evaluation of science behind one sleep device
Photo by dearoot
