Evaluating the sleep/wake cycle in persons with asthma: Three case scenarios

To evaluate if wrist actigraphy, a measurement of movement, is an effective tool for assessing sleep/wake patterns and use in clinical practice in persons with asthma.

Data from three individuals with asthma were utilized to develop three case scenarios. The case scenarios illustrated the use of actigraphy as the measurement tool for sleep patterns as they relate to individuals with varying degrees of asthma control.

The person with poorly controlled asthma had less total sleep time and lower sleep efficiency than the person with well-controlled asthma. The actigraph provided useful information on sleep patterns such as daytime napping, nighttime sleep, and sleep efficiency in persons with varying degrees of asthma control.

Nighttime asthma symptoms are often hard for the nurse practitioner (NP) to assess as they are often subjectively reported by patients. The use of actigraph in the clinical setting can provide useful, objective information on the sleep/wake cycles of persons with asthma to aid the NP in providing optimal management of the disease.