A home evaluation of a behavioral response measure of sleep/wakefulness

15 women and 3 men enrolled in a first-year undergraduate psychology course participated in a study concerned with evaluating the home use of a behavioral response monitor of sleep/wakefulness. The subjects, representing a range of fairly poor to good sleepers, used the device for three consecutive nights in their own homes. The 1967 Monroe Questionnaire was used to differentiate "good" sleepers from "poorer" sleepers. The behavioral response system indicated that subjects could adequately report how long they slept but consistently underestimated their number of arousals and could not reliably specify sleep-onset latency. The behavioral response measure was an effective and economical means of obtaining in-home objective sleep data and holds potential for clinical evaluation of disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep.