Wrist actigraph versus self-report in normal sleepers: sleep schedule adherence and self-report validity

This study compared the accuracy of reporting adherence to sleep instructions in participants who were informed that adherence would be verified with an actigraph (aware group) to participants not informed the actigraph would be used to assess adherence (unaware of group). Participants were college students (N = 68), who were screened for psychiatric or sleep disorders or extremes in circadian tendency. The UG had later actigraph estimates of bedtime than the AG, but the two groups did not differ on their self-report of adherence to the sleep rules. Only the UG had later actigraphic estimates of bedtimes that violated the sleep rules. These findings have implications for the accuracy of sleep diary self-reports as well as for the use of actigraphs in studies requiring people to follow specific sleep schedule instructions.