Don’t Attach Your Sleep Tracker to the Ceiling Fan (and Other Helpful Advice from Insomnia Experts)

Sleep trackers - what are they good for? While they may give you an entertaining look at your sleep health, they can complicate treatment of sleep disorders. Our guest today, Dr. Diana Dolan, returns to P4P to provide a balanced view on consumer wearables and their impact on sleep assessment and treatment. Technology has evolved in the past few years, and so have our suggestions for how to work with patients who love their sleep trackers. How can we capitalize on our patients’ enthusiasm for better sleep? Tune in to find out.

Diana Dolan, Ph.D., CBSM, DBSM, is a clinical psychologist serving as an Associate Director of Training & Education with the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. She currently oversees programs that provide evidence-based training for military-connected patients on a variety of topics. She is certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine by the American Board of Sleep Medicine. She is also a diplomate in Behavioral Sleep Medicine from the Board of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• de Zambotti, M., Goldstein, C., Cook, J., Menghini, L., Altini, M., Cheng, P., & Robillard, R. (2024). State of the science and recommendations for using wearable technology in sleep and circadian research. SLEEP 47: 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsad325
• Khosla S, Deak MC, Gault D, Goldstein CA, Hwang D, Kwon Y, O'Hearn D, Schutte-Rodin S, Yurcheshen M, Rosen IM, Kirsch DB, Chervin RD, Carden KA, Ramar K, Aurora RN, Kristo DA, Malhotra RK, Martin JL, Olson EJ, Rosen CL, Rowley JA; American Academy of Sleep Medicine Board of Directors. Consumer sleep technology: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement. J Clin Sleep Med. 2018;14(5):877–880.
• CBT-I Coach app. Includes a sleep diary that may appeal to patients who prefer to use apps and other technology. https://mobile.va.gov/app/cbt-i-coach

Calls-to-action: For example:

• Become familiar with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s position on consumer wearables: “It is the position of the AASM that CST must be FDA cleared and rigorously tested against current gold standards if it is intended to render a diagnosis and/or treatment. Given the unknown potential of CST to measure sleep or assess for sleep disorders, these tools are not substitutes for medical evaluation. However, CSTs may be utilized to enhance the patient-clinician interaction when presented in the context of an appropriate clinical evaluation.”
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